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A HISTORY OF THE 
ANCIENT WORLD 



PLATE I 




A PORTION OF THE PARTHENON AND ITS FRIEZE 



A HISTORY OF THE 
ANCIENT WORLD 



BY 

GEORGE STEPHEN GOODSPEED, Ph.D. 

w 

LATE PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 



REVISED BY 

WILLIAM SCOTT FERGUSON, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
AND 

STILLMAN PERCY ROBERT CHADWICK, A.M. 

INSTRUCTOR IN HISTORY, PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS, AND PLANS 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
1912 






Copyright, 1904 and 191 2, bv 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 




CCI.A314956 



So 
F. M. G. 

TO WHOSE COURAGE, FAITH, AND PRACTICAL 

HELP IN A DARK YEAR, THIS VOLUME 

BEARS ABUNDANT WITNESS 



PREFACE 

It is now eight years since my father, Professor Good- 
speed, wrote "A History of the Ancient World." Had 
he lived it would have been his first care to follow the 
results of historical research and advancing methods of 
teaching history in secondary schools by frequent revi- 
sions of the subject-matter of the text. Recognizing 
the growing faith in the book on the part of those who 
have come to know and teach it, and the value and 
necessity of a revision at the present time, the family 
of the author have secured the services of Professors 
Ferguson and Chadwick to make such changes as the 
author himself would have considered as adding to the 
value of the book. 

It is believed that the book in its present form will per- 
petuate that spirit of usefulness and the genuine schol- 
arly feehng which characterized the author's Hfe and 
work. 

T. H. GOODSPEED. 

Department of Botany, 
University of California. 



REVISERS' NOTE 

We have been led to make this revision of the late 
Professor Goodspeed's " History of the Ancient World " 
mainly by three considerations : its use of an easy, grace- 
ful, yet clean-cut and vigorous, English; its firm grasp 
of the great main lines of historical development, and 
its high excellence in respect of type, paper, and illustra- 
tions. There seemed to us to be no necessity that a 
text-book should be trivial in style, weak in coherence, 
or inferior in presswork. Accordingly, we have been 
careful to preserve in the revision the character of the 
original. The book remains in essentials the work of 
Professor Goodspeed. 

On the other hand, we have by no means contented 
ourselves with the correction of verbal inaccuracies. 
While at our work we have had constantly in mind the 
possibiHty, by making additions, expansions, and other 
modifications, of meeting more closely all reasonable de- 
mands of experienced teachers. And at the same time 
we have tried to make the text a faithful exponent of 
the views- now held in the most authoritative scientific 
circles. It is our hope that the book, as revised, will be 
found — in its comparative neglect of the growth of consti- 
tutions, and the comparative fulness with which it treats 
the matured governments of Sparta, Athens, and Rome; 
in its care for the transitions from the old world of the 
East to Greece and from Greece via Sicily and Magna 



X Revisers' Note 

Graecia to Italy; in its reduction of the political history 
of Egypt and Babylonia and of later Rome to a mere out- 
line; and, above all, in its effort to interpret historically 
the Hellenistic Age — a fairly close approach to the ideal 
as stated in the recent report of the Committee of Five 
of the American Historical Association. As for its scien- 
tific quality, it will suffice to say that nowhere else in 
English, so far as we know, can the teacher find so closely 
followed the general conception of ancient history which 
we owe to the epoch-making work of Professor Eduard 
Meyer, of the University of Berlin. 

Attention may be called to a number of pedagogical 
improvements. 

(i) At the head of each section we have set in bold- 
faced type its general contents, and in the margins we 
have given a more detailed analysis of the text. 

(2) The pronunciation of difficult words has been in- 
dicated on their first occurrence in the narrative as well 
as in the index. 

(3) The index has been arranged so as to enable the 
student to find place-names on the maps without diffi- 
culty. 

(4) A select list for reading has been added. This has 
been compiled almost exclusively from five single-volume 
works. It makes it possible for teachers in schools with 
large classes and small library funds to attend to col- 
lateral reading. For the small sum of eighty dollars, 
ten copies of each of these five books can be procured. 
The topics for this list have been chosen and the refer- 
ences made by a successful and experienced teacher — 
Miss Margaret McGill, Head of the History Department 
of the Newton High School, Massachusetts. 



Revisers' Note xi 

(5) By the use of strong colors, as well as by additions 
and corrections in details, the value of the maps taken 
from the first edition has been enhanced substantially. 
Four new maps have been added. The number of full- 
page illustrations has been nearly doubled. 

(6) A table of dates and events has been added. This 
contains the chronological data found indispensable dur- 
ing many years' experience in college preparatory work. 

(7) The material set into the text in smaller type has 
been expanded {a) by a number of significant Greek and 
Roman legends; {h) by occasional explanations of diffi- 
cult matters. The latter are intended primarily for the 
teacher, upon whom, as Professor Goodspeed wrote in 
some omitted Suggestions to Teachers, "the usefulness 
of this book will depend largely. " 

William Scott Ferguson. 
S. Percy R. Chad wick. 



PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION 

This volume owes much to a wide variety of helpers. 
Doubtless, what may be original in it is of least value. 
Accordingly, the author wishes, first of all, to make general 
confession of having drawn upon any stores of pedagogical 
widsom and any treasures of scholarship which seemed 
to contribute to his subject. In particular, however, 
special acknowledgments are due to some who have 
given personal assistance in the preparation of the book. 
Professors F. B. Tarbell and Gordon J. Laing, of the 
University of Chicago, have made helpful suggestions 
regarding the illustrations. Frances Ada Knox, Assist- 
ant in History in the University of Chicago, has given im- 
portant aid in the preparation of the manuscript and in 
other ways. The maps, charts, and plans have had the 
skilful and scholarly attention of Mr. Harold H. Nelson, 
now of the Syrian Protestant College, of Beyrout. The 
book has also profited from the suggestions of a number 
of teachers in East and West who have read it in whole or 
in part. Nor should the share of the publishers be for- 
gotten, whose warm interest and generous co-operation 
have made work with them a pleasure. If the book suc- 
ceeds in serving the cause of sound historical learning in 
high-schools and academies, their share in making this 
possible is no small one. 

G. S. G. 

The University of Chicago, 
May, 1904. 



CONTENTS 

I. THE EASTERN EMPIRES 

PAGE 

Preliminary Survey i 

1. The First Kingdoms in Egypt and Babylonia . . s 

2. The Early Babylonian Empire lo 

3. Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 14 

4. The Egyptian (New) Empire 29 

5. The Syrian States 39 

6. The Empire of Assyria 48 

7. The Median, Chaldean (New Babylonian) and 

Lydian Empires 54 

8. The Empire of Persia: Its Founding and Organi- 

zATiaN . 57 

II. THE GREEK STATES 

Preliminary Survey 65 

1. The .^gean World and the Beginnings of Greece 70 

2. The Middle (Homeric) Age 79 

3. The Development of Constitutional States . . 91 

4. Sparta and x\thens 109 

5. The Greek Empires: Athenian, Spartan, Theban 

and Macedonian 126 

/6. Alexander the Great . 231 

7. The Hellenistic Age 248 

8. The Western Greeks: the Transition to Rome . 270 

XV 



xvi Contents 

III. THE EMPIRE OF ROME 

PAGE 

Preliminary Survey 276 

1. The Making of Rome 284 

2. Rome's Defence against Her Neighbors .... 299 

3. The Unification and Organization of Italy . . . 318 

4. The Struggle with Carthage for the Western 

Mediterranean 343 

5. Rome's Conquest of the East . 365 

6. The Decline of the Roman Republic 375 

7. The Roman Empire (Principate) 425 

8. The Later Roman Empire (Despotism) 491 

9. The Breaking Up of the Roman Empire and the 

End of the Ancient Period 502 

Chronological Table . 524 

BIBLIOGRAPHIES FOR STUDENTS 

1. Oriental History 4 

2. Greek History 69 

3. Rome — General 283 

4. Rome — The Empire 425 

5. Rome — Closing Period 502 

APPENDICES 

I. Bibliography FOR Advanced Students and Teachers 531 

II. Notes on the Illustrations 538 

General Index 555 



MAPS, PLANS AND CHARTS 

FULL-PAGE AND DOUBLE-PAGE MAPS 

PAGE 

The Ancient East facing 3 

Empires of the Ancient Eastern World . following 60 

Ancient Greece , .. . .. following 66 

Centres of Mycen^an Civilization .... facing 77 

Colonies of Phoenicia and Greece .... facing 89 

Lands OF THE vEoEAN . ......... following 128 

Athens. . facing 147 

Athenian Empire AT Its Height facing 171 

Greece AT the Time OF the Peloponnesian War facing 180 

Alexander's Empire and Kingdoms of His Suc- 
cessors following 234 

Ancient Italy following 278 

The Punic Wars facing 343 

Italy in 218 b.c facing 350 

Gaul at the Time of C^sar facing 412 

The Roman State at Successive Periods of Its De- 
velopment TO 44 B.c following 424 

The Roman Empire in the Time of Augustus following 434 

The City of Rome following 460 

The Mediterranean World following 476 

The Roman Empire Under Diocletian . . . facing 493 

The Barbarian Kingdoms facing 505 

The Roman Empire Under Justinian .... facing 509 

Europe about a.d. 800 facing 517 

xvii 



xviii Maps, Plans, and Charts 

MAPS AND PLANS IN THE TEXT 



PAGE 



The Battle of Salamis 137 

The World According to Herodotus 157 

Pylos and Sphacteria 181 

The Hellespont, Propontis and Bosporus .... 197 

The Battle of Leuctra 209 

The Battle of Issus 235 

Alexandria at the Time of Christ 237 

The World According to Eratosthenes, 235 b.c. . . 241 

The Earliest Peoples of Italy 281 

Early Rome 286 

The Environs of Rome 301 

The Battle of Cannae 351 

Carthage 371 

The Battle of Pharsalus 416 

The World According to Ptolemy, a.d. 150 . . . . 463 

CHRONOLOGICAL CHART 

The Ancient Oriental Empires facing 57 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



I. A Corner of the Parthenon and a Portion 

OF Its Frieze, Color . . . Frontispiece 

PAGE 

II. Typical Oriental Heads .... facing 5 

III. The Sumerian Army in Action . . facing 8 

IV. Painting from the Wall of an Egyptian 

Tomb facing 15 '^' 

V. Swamp-Hunting in a Reed Boat (Egypt) 

facing 24/ 

VI. Babylonian and Egyptian Temples facing 26 

VII. Ancient Systems of Writing . . facing 42 

VIII. Typical Assyrian Scenes . . . facing 52 

IX AND X. Decoration of a Cretan Sarcophagus. 

Color facing 70 

XL Kamares Pottery. Color . . . facing 72 » 

XII. Throne of Minos and Pillar of the 

Double-Axes facing 73 

XIII. Lion Gate and Bee-Hive Tomb . facing 74 

XIV. Reliefs from Gold Cups of the Mycen^an 

Age facing 75 1/ 

XV. Wild Goat and Young — Cretan Art of 
THE Twentieth Century b.c. Color 

facing 123 ' 

XVI. Art of Greece in the Time of the Persian 

War facing 141' 

XVII. The Acropolis of Athens (restored) facing 164 - 

XVIII. Typical Greek Heads facing 1S9 -' 

XIX. The Hermes OF Praxiteles . . . facing 215 

XX. The Alexander Mosaic. Color . facing 234 
xix 



XX Illustrations 

PLATE PAGE 

XXI. Realistic and Romantic Art of Hellen- 
istic Period facing 257 \ 

XXII. Typical Sculptured Figures: Khafre 

and Posidippus facing 265 i 

XXIII. The Laocoon Group , facing 267 

XXIV. Classical Temples facing 271 

XXV. Typical Sculptured Figures: Ashurnat- 

sirpal and Trajan .... facing 287 

XXVI. Wall Paintings from Campanian Tombs 

facing 321 

XXVII. Typical Coins: Orient and "| 

Greece I . following 332 

XXVIII. Typical Coins: Rome J 

XXIX. The Roman Forum and the Surrounding 

Buildings (restored) . . . facing 358 

XXX. Typical Roman Heads .... facing 409 

XXXI. Art of the Augustan Age . . . facing 435 

XXXII. Relief from the Arch of Titus . facing 454 

XXXIII. A Room in the House of the Vettii, 

Pompeii facing 458 

XXXIV. Roman Portraiture facing 472 

XXXV. A Relief from the Column of Trajan 

facing 475 

XXXVI. Castle of St. Angelo: Hadrian's Mole 

facing 478 

XXXVII. The Pantheon and the Wall of Aure- 

LiAN facing 488 

XXXVIII. Early Christian Art. Color . . facing 490 

XXXIX. Characteristic Roman Architecture /acM/g 496 

XL. Byzantine Art: Christ Enthroned. Color 

facing 509 



A HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT 
WORLD 

I. THE EASTERN EMPIRES 

TO 500 B.C. 

PRELIMINARY SURVEY 

I. The Field of Oriental History. — The earliest seats 
of ancient civilization are found in Egypt and Bab-y-lo'- 
ni-a. Egypt lies in the lower valley of the river Nile; The Rivei 
Babylonia in the lowland where the rivers Tigris and ^^"^y^- 
Eu-phra'tes unite to flow into the Persian gulf. Both 
these river-systems have their sources in high mountain 
regions. At regular periods in the spring of each year 
their waters are swollen by the melting snoWs or winter 
rains. These floods pour over the plain and carry with 
them masses of earth which they deposit along the banks 
and at the mouths of the rivers. Thus in the course of 
time they have piled up layers of soil which, regularly 
irrigated by the overflowing waters, are marvellously fer- 
tile. Between the Nfle valley and the Tigris-Euphrates 
basin direct communication is cut off by the Arabian 
desert; the upper Euphrates, however, bending westward, 
connects the Tigris-Euphrates basin with the series of 
fertile valleys and plateaus made by the mountain ranges 
which run from north to south, parallel with the eastern 
shore of the Mediterranean. Thus this middle region, syria. 
known in general as Syria, is the connecting link between 

1 



2 The Eastern Empires 

the two river-systems, since its southern boundary is 
separated from the Nile valley only by a comparatively 
narrow stretch of sandy desert. 

2. Its Physical Unity. — Looking at the whole region 
thus bound together, we observe that it has somewhat 
the character of a crescent. The two extremities are 
the lands at the mouths of the two river-systems — 
Egypt and Babylonia. The upper central portion is 
called Mes-o-po-ta'mi-a. The outer border consists of 
mountain ranges which pass from the Persian gulf north- 
ward and westward until they touch the northeast cor- 
ner of the Mediterranean, from which point the boun- 
dary is continued by the sea itself. The inner side is 
made by the desert of Arabia. The crescent-shaped 
stretch of country thus formed is the field of the history 
of the ancient eastern world. It consisted of two primi- 
tive centres of historic life connected by a strip of hab- 
itable land of varying width. 

3. Its Peoples. — The inhabitants of this region were 
peoples who spoke dialects of a common language. 
Most of them are named in the book of Genesis as 
descended from Shem (Sem), the son of Noah. The 
accepted name for them, therefore, is the "Semitic" 
peoples, and the languages they spoke are called the 
"Semitic" languages. 

4. Their Distribution. — The original home of the prim- 
itive Semites was probably northern Arabia. From here, 
when the scanty sustenance afforded by the desert could 
not supply their needs, they poured out on every side 
into the fertile valleys that bordered upon their home. 
Thus, from this natural centre they went forth into 
the lower Tigris-Euphrates valley to master the civiliza- 



The Semites and Their Neiiihbors 



i=> 



lion which we know as the Babylonian; farther to the 
north, on the upper Tigris, they became the Assyrians; 
roaming back and forth in the wide regions between the 
upper Euphrates and Tigris, they were known as the 
Ar'a-me'ans; farther to the west, in the region bordering 
on the Mediterranean, they formed communities known 
as the Canaanites, the Phoenicians and the Hebrews. 
Pushing on to the south and southwest, some of them 
made their homes on the fertile coasts of southern Ara- 
bia. Others passed over into the Nile valley and made 
up the most important element of the peoples who set- 
tled in Egypt. 

5. The Surrounding Peoples. — Occupying the upper 
valleys and plateaus of the northern mountain ranges 
that border the crescent of this Semitic world was a 
variety of tribes and peoples without unity of language 
or civilization. From time to time they fell upon the 
Semites of the river- valleys and established their author- 
ity more or less permanently and extensively over them. 
Such were the Elamites occupying the high table-lands 
to the east of Babylonia, and the Hittites, or Khati, whose 
original home was in the mountains to the northwest of 
the upper waters of the Euphrates. From the same indo-Eu- 
mountain regions came, toward the close of the history ^°p®*°^' 
of the ancient east, the Medo-Persians, by language a 
branch of the family to which the historical peoples of 
western Europe and North America belong — the Indo- 
European or Indo- Germanic family of languages.* They 

* This family, clearly distinguished from the Semitic (§ 3), comprised 
peoples whose homes were as far distant from one another as India and 
England. Its chief branches were spoken by the people of India, the 
Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Teutons, the Celts and the 
Slavs. 



4 The Eastern Empires 

had their homes in the lofty plateaus far to the east of the 
Tigris-Euphrates valley. Thence by slow degrees they 
pushed westward until, descending upon the plains, they 
absorbed the ancient Semitic civilization and established 
the Persian empire. 

5a. Grand Divisions. — The grand divisions of this 
long development are the following: 

1. The First Kingdoms in Egypt and Babylonia. 

2. The Early Babylonian Empire (2500-1600 B.C.). 

3. Egyptian and Babylonian Culture. 

4. The Egyptian (New) Empire (i 580-1 150 B.C.). 

5. The Syrian States (1150-900 B.C.). 

6. The Empire of Assyria (900-606 b.c). 

7. The Median, Chaldean (New Babylonian) and Lyd • 

ian Empires (606-539 B.C.). 

8. The Empire of Persia: its founding and organiza- 

tion (539-500 B.C.). 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ORIENTAL HISTORY* 

Breasted. A History of the Ancient Egyptians. Scribners. The besl 

one-volume history of Egypt. 
Erman. Life in Ancient Egypt. Macmillan. Graphic account, richly 

illustrated, of public and private life. 
GOODSPEED. History of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Scribners. 

The only one-volume history in moderate compass. 
EJENT. History of the Hebrew People. Scribners, 2 vols. An attrac- 
tively written account on the basis of modern biblical learning. 
EllKG. A History of Sumer and A kkad. Stokes Company. Volume I 

of a history of Babylonia and Assyria. The most recent and 

authoritative work on the subject. 
Maspero. Ancient Egypt and Assyria. Chapman and Hall. Sketches 

of the life of these peoples. Pleasantly written and instructive. 

* An additional bibliography for advanced students and teachers will 
be found in Appendix I. 



PLATE II 





Hammurabi 



Rameses II 





Esarhaddon 



A Syrian 





A Philistine 



A Hittite 



TYPICAL ORIENTAL HEADS 



Old Egypt 5 

MuRisON. I. Babylonia atid Assyria. 2. History of Egypt. Both im- 
ported by Scribners. Excellent little sketches for school use. 

Ragozin. I. The Story of Chaldea. 2. The Story of Assyria. 3. The 
Story of Media, Babylon and Persia. Putnaras. Well-written, full, 
not abreast of the most recent discoveries, but modern enough to 
be very useful. 

Sayce. Ancient Empires of the East. Scribners. A collection of de- 
tached histories of the oriental peoples not altogether up to date and 
with no sense of the unity of ancient oriental history. 

Sayce. Babylonians and Assyrians: Life and Customs. Scribners. 
Deals with the life of these peoples fully and interestingly. 

Tarbell. a History of Greek Art. Chautauqua Press. Has an 
introductory chapter on oriental art. 

Wendel. History of Egypt. History Primer Series. American Book 
Company. 



1.— THE FIRST KINGDOMS IN EGYPT 
AND BABYLONIA 

6. Beginnings of Egypt. — The darkness that covers 
the beginnings of man's Hfe on the earth lifts from the 
valley of the Nile about five thousand years before the 
birth of Christ. Then, and for a long time thereafter, 
Egypt was in the stone age and made its chief weap- 
ons, instruments and ornaments of stone. It was ap- 
parently not till at least one thousand years had passed 
that the use of copper ushered in a new epoch. In the The 
interval, a number of petty districts, called nomes, di- 
vided the Nile valley between them. Their history was 
doubtless full of incident, but it is a sealed book to us. 
It is not even clear whether they were distinct states or 
administrative districts of larger kingdoms, such as those 
of Upper and Lower Egypt — the two which finally 
emerged and for many centuries prior to 3400 B.C. dom- 
inated the one south, the other north, of a point not far 



Nomes. 



6 



First Oriental Kingdoms 



up the river from Memphis. Many names, customs 
and institutions existed in after ages to bear witness to 
the long duration and high achievements in government 
and civihzation of the two-kingdom period. 

7. The Old Kingdom. — Not later than 3400 B.C. the 
people of the Nile valley were united by Menes into one 
state with its capital at Memphis, and subsequently dur- 
ing three epochs they were ruled over by great kings 
whose official title was the " Pharaoh."* The first epoch 
is that of the Old Kingdom (2980-2475 B.C.). In this 
early period the most important dynasty was the fourth 
(2900-2750 B.C.). Its kings left their inscriptions on the 
cliffs of the peninsula of Sinai, east of Egypt. There one 
of them is pictured in the act of striking down an enemy 
with his mace. Another remarkable memorial of them 
is the mighty Pyramids, the wonder and admiration of 
travellers in all ages. In the time of the sixth dynasty, 
commerce with the rich lands of central Africa was flour- 
ishing. Sea-voyages, the first that history records, were 
made upon the Red sea. Yet the crowning achievement 
of these kings was their successful rule of the state with 
its loyal and devoted officials and its contented and pros- 

centraiized pcrous pcoplc. From all parts of the realm nobles came 
men""' ^*^ ^^^^ ^^ Memphis, the king's seat, and to serve him. 

When they died, they desired above all else to be buried 

near his tomb. 

8. The Middle Kingdom.— The second epoch of Egyp- 
tian unity and prosperity— the Middle Kingdom (2160^ 



* An Egyptian historian named Manetho, writing in Greek, has left 
a Hst of the Pharaohs organized in thirty-one successive groups called 
by him "dynasties" — a most convenient arrangement followed by all 
later historians. 



Middle Egypt 7 

1788 B.C.) — reached its acme under the twelfth dynasty 
(2000-1788 B.C.). A thousand years had passed and 
many changes had taken place. Princes of Thebes were 
on the throne, and the capital of the state was removed 
farther to the south. The nobles no longer flocked to the 
court, but preferred to dwell on their own domains. 
They recognized the Pharaoh's authority and did his 
bidding, but lived and died and were buried at home. 
The following utterance of one of them is an evidence of 
their authority as well as of the character of their rule: 

"No daughter of a citizen have I injured, no widow have I mo- a Prince' 
lested, no laborer have I arrested, no shepherd have I banished, Boast, 
no superintendent of workmen was there whose laborers I have 
taken away from their work. In my time there were no poor, and 
none were hungry in my day. When the years of famine came I 
ploughed all the iields of the nome from the southern to the north- 
ern boundary; I kept the inhabitants alive and gave them food, so 
that not one was hungry. I gave to the widow even as to her who 
had a husband, and I never preferred the great to the small." 

9. Feudalism in Egypt. — In the period of this Middle 
Kingdom Egypt developed and perfected a feudal or- 
ganization much like that which William the Conqueror 
established in England. By this is meant a political 
system in which the land is divided into lots of varying 
size, and let out to tenants who owe certain obligations 
such as rent in kind and military service to the owner of 
the land who is their political superior. The twelfth 
dynasty is the first example of feudal government in 
history. Rulers in such circumstances have to be able 
and active to keep the nobles obedient. The Pharaohs cultural 
of this dynasty were equal to the task. Under them the Contact 
culture of Egypt became familiar to the people of far- rope. 



8 



First 0?iental Kiiigdoms 



distant Crete. They extended the state up the Nile by 
the conquest of Nubia (Ethiopia), the quartz mines of 
which yielded much gold. A series of successful engi- 
neering works on the lower Nile, by which a marshy dis- 
trict in the west, now called the Fa-yum' was drained, 
added a wide and fertile tract to the kingdom. The 
Pharaohs of this dynasty adorned it with palaces and 
temples and lived in it or on its border. One of these 
structures was so elaborate that it was called by He- 
rod'o-tus, the Greek historian and traveller, a "laby- 
rinth," and in his judgment it surpassed the Pyramids. 

10. The Beginnings of Babylonia. — There was a long 
period of material and political development in the valley 
of the Tigris-Euphrates rivers before the Su-me'ri-ans 
make their appearance as lords of the southern por- 
tion of it, which we call Babylonia (about 2800 B.C.). 
They were a round-headed, clean-shaven people who 
fought in a close formation and created the system of 
writing as well as the main elements of culture which 
subsequently existed in this district. 

11. Sumer and Accad. — Their chief cities were Opis, 
Kish and Uruk.* Nippur was the leading religious centre 
where stood a famous temple to the god Ellil (Bel). The 
others were in turn the seats of kingdoms, which ruled 
the whole region for about two hundred and fifty years. 
Uruk's one emperor, Lu'gal-zag-gi'si, claims, in fact, to 
have led his armies from the Persian gulf to the Med- 
iterranean. Then at about 2500 B.C. the suzerainty 
passed into the possession of the men of Ag'a-de'— a 
long-headed, black haired and bearded people of Semitic 
stock whose great king, Sargon, not only conquered all 

* The u in all these words is pronounced like 00. 



PLATE 111 




THE SUMERIAN ARMY IN ACTION 












"^^^ -^-i-i',''" 









BABYLONIAN CYLINDERS 



Sargon of Agade 9 

Babylonia but also extended his authority over the con- 
glomerate of kinsmen peoples who inhabited the arable 
lands between his home and the Mediterranean sea. He 
probably reaped where his predecessor of Uruk had 
sown. 

An interesting account of Sargon's early life has come down to us Sargon's 
in his own words: "Sargon, the powerful king, am I. My mother ^"'<''''- 
was of low degree, my father I did not know. The brother of my 
father dwelt in the mountain. My city was Azupirani, situated on the 
bank of the Euphrates. [My] humble mother in secret brought me 
forth. She placed me in a basket-boat of rushes, with pitch she 
closed my door. She gave me over to the river, which did not [rise] 
over me. The river bore me along; to Akki, the irrigator, it carried 
me. Akki, the irrigator, brought me to land. Akki, the irrigator, 
reared me as his own son. Akki, the irrigator, appointed me his 
gardener. While I was gardener, the goddess Ishtar looked on me 
with love [and] . . . four years I ruled the kingdom." 

An ancient record reads as follows: "The moon was favorable 
to Sargon, who at this season was highly exalted, and a rival, an 
equal, there was not. His own land was quiet. Over the countries 
of the sea of the setting sun [the Mediterranean sea] he passed, 
and for three years at the setting sun [the west] all lands his hand 
subdued. Every place he formed into one \i.e., he organized all into 
an empire]. His images at the setting sun he erected [i.e., as a sign 
of authority in the west]." 

12. Accad and Sumer. — Sargon was succeeded by his 
vigorous son Naram Sin, and he in turn by ten other 
Accadian kings; but at the end of one hundred and 
ninety-seven years the empire of Agade fell (2300 B.C.). 
A period of confusion and invasion followed. Then the 
Sumerians, now largely Semitized, seized the government 
again and for over two hundred years kings of Ur 
and Isin ruled in turn over the cities of Sumer and 



10 Early Bahylonian Empire 

Accad. Of the governors (pa-te'sis) whom they installed 
in their dependencies none was more energetic than 
Gud'e-a of Shir-pur'la (La'gash). 



3.— THE EARLY BABYLONIAN EMPIRE 

2500-1600 B.C. 

13. The Kingdom of Babylon. — Isin at length failed 
to keep down the subject cities. Civil wars followed 
accompanied by invasions from Elam (§ 5). About the 
same time some Arabian kings seized the northern city of 

Union Babylon. The two invaders fought each other, and the 
Babylon, kings of Babylon drove out the Elamites and got posses- 
sion of the whole country. Thus a strong and permanent 
state was founded with its capital at Babylon. 

14. The Expansion of Babylonia. — To the east, west 
and south, with their barriers of mountain, desert and 
sea, there was small prospect of extension. Elam and 
the districts lying on the slopes of the eastern ranges 
marked the limit in this direction. But to the north 
and northwest, the rivers Tigris and Euphrates opened 
up highways to the Mesopotamian and Syrian regions as 
far as the northern mountains and the Mediterranean. 
Thither, as we have just seen, the kings of Uruk and 
Agade had led their armies and laid the foundations of 
an empire.* Of its organization and history we know 
nothing. 

15. The First Babylonian Empire. — When the kings 
of Babylon (§ 13) had united all Babylonia under their 

* An empire (Latin, imperium) is a state made by the supremacy 
of one city or state over several others. Such a poUcy of making a great 
state is called imperialism. 



Laws of Haimnurahi 11 

sway, they, too, followed the imperial policy and founded 
the first Babylonian empire — the earliest enduring state 
that covered the larger part of the known world. In 
extent it did not surpass the limits which tradition as- 
signs to Sargon, but the long and abundant series of 
written documents which have come from its kings bears 
undoubted testimony to their rule. The founder of the 
empire was Ham-mu-ra'bi, a brilliant warrior and states- 
man (about 1950 B.C.). An inscription illustrates his 
care for the canal-system of Babylonia: 

"When Anu and Bel [great gods of Babylonia] gave me the land of 
Babylonia to rule and intrusted their sceptre to my hands, I dug 
out the Hammurabi canal, nourisher of men, which brings abun- 
dance of water to the Babylonian lands. Both its banks I changed 
into fields for cultivation, and I gathered heaps of grain, and I pro- 
cured unfailing water for the Babylonian lands." 

For his empire the king published a code of laws His Law 
which contains some 280 statutes and reveals a high 
ideal of justice. Some of the more striking and instruc- 
tive of the laws are the following: 

I. If a man bring an accusation against a man and charge him 
with a crime, but cannot prove it, he, the accuser, shall be put to 
death. 

8. If a man steal ox or sheep, ass or pig or boat — if it be from a 
god (temple) or a palace, he shall restore thirty-fold; if it be from a 
freeman, he shall render tenfold. If the thief have nothing where- 
with to pay, he shall be put to death. 

21. If a man make a breach in a house, they shall put him to death 
in front of that breach, and they shall thrust him therein. 

25. If a fire break out in the house of a mm, and a man who goes 
to extinguish it cast his eye on the furniture of the owner of the house, 
and take the furniture of the owner of the house, that man shall be 
thrown into that fire. 



code. 



12 Early Babylonian Empire 

57. If a shepherd have not come to an agreement with the ownei 
of a field to pasture his sheep on the grass and pasture his sheep on 
the field without the owner's consent, the owner of the field shall har- 
vest his field, the shepherd who has pastured his sheep on the field 
without the consent of the owner of the field shall give over and above 
twenty gur of grain per gan to the owner of the field. 

117! If a man be in debt and sell his wife, son or daughter, or bind 
them over to service, for three years they shall work in the house of 
^ their purchaser or master; in the fourth year they shall be given 

their freedom. 

195-199. If a son strike his father, they shall cut off his fingers. 
If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. 
If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone. If one de- 
stroy the eye of a freeman or break the bone of a freeman, he shall 
pay one mina of silver. If one destroy the eye of a man's slave or 
break a bone of a man's slave, he shall pay one-half his price. 

206. If a man strike another man in a quarrel and wound him, he 
shall swear "I struck him without intent," and he shall be responsible 
for a physician. 

251. If a man's bull has been wont to gore and they have made 
known to him its habit of goring, and he has not protected its horns, 
or has not tied it up, and that bull gores the son of a man and brings 
about his death, he shall pay one-half mina of silver. 

In his concluding words the king says: "Let any oppressed man, 
who has a cause, come before my image as king of righteousness! 
Let him read the inscription on my monument! Let him give heed 
to my mighty words! And may my monument enlighten him as to 
his cause and may he understand his case! May he set his heart at 
ease! (and he will exclaim:) 'Hammurabi is indeed a ruler who is 
like a real father to his people.' " 

16. The Decline of Babylon. — For two centuries kings 
continued to rule in peace and prosperity over the empire 
founded by Hammurabi. Even when rude tribes from 
the eastern mountains, called the Kassites, entered the 
Babylonian plain and their chieftains (about 1750 B.C.) 
seated themselves on the throne of Babylon, the structure 



Fall of Babylonian Empire 13 

of the state remained firm. The new people accepted 
the civilization, and the new kings ruled by the customs 
and laws of the old Babylonian empire. For the tern- The Com- 
ple at Nippur (§ ii) gypsum came from Mesopotamia, Babylon, 
marble, cedar and cypress from the eastern mountains, 
lapis lazuli from Bactria in the far east, magnesite from 
the island of Eu-boe'a in the iEgean sea, and cobalt, 
possibly, from China, besides copper, gold and precious 
stones from other regions. Nevertheless, the Kassite 
period was one of stagnation. Babylonia ceased to 
develop and no longer gave an impulse for progress to 
other peoples. 

17. The Heirs of Babylon. — The Kassites were not 
the only foreigners who coveted the rich land of the two 
rivers. They had rivals in the Hittites from Asia Minor 
and the Arians of Indo-European stock (§ 5) from the 
east. The whole world of the Babylonian empire seems 
to have been a prey in this epoch to captains and soldiers 
of fortune from diverse parts. The Kassite rule was 
merely nominal in many districts. About 1650 B.C. the 
"Semitic city of Assur on the upper Tigris threw off the 
yoke of Babylon and founded the kingdom of Assyria. 
For a long time it fought with varying fortune against 
Kassites, Hittites and Arians. Elam, too, became in- 
dependent. The whole region beyond the Euphrates Fail of 
passed into the hands of Egypt (§ ;^^) and thus the early Ionian 
Babylonian empire perished (about 1600 B.C.). Empire. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. Who were the Elamites? 2. For 
what are the following places noted : Memphis, Agade, Nippur, 
Thebes, Babylon? 3. For what were the following famous: 
Hammurabi, Sargon of Agade? 4. Who were the Semites, 
the Kassites? 5. What is meant by empire, lapis lazuli, 
tradition? 6. When did Hammurabi live? 



14 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Land of the Egyptians. 

Breasted, A History of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 3-13. 2. The 
Tigris-Euphrates Valley. Goodspeed, A History of the Baby- 
lonians and Assyrians, pp. 5-13. 3. Sources of Information of 
the Tigris-Euphrates People. Goodspeed, pp. 14-24, 37-43. 
4. The Cuneiform Inscriptions. Goodspeed, pp. 25-36. 5. 
Chronology of Egyptian History. Breasted, pp. 23-28. 6. 
The Earliest Egyptians. Breasted, pp. 30-39. 7. Sargon of 
Agade. Goodspeed, pp. 61-63. 8. Khammurabi. Goodspeed, 
pp. 107-117. 9. The Kassites. Goodspeed, pp. 121-126. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Fourth 

Egyptian Dynasty. Wendel, pp. 39-41; Murison, Egypt, §§ 22- 
24; Rawlinson, Story of Egypt, chs. 3-4. 2. The Twelfth Egyp- 
tian Dynasty. Wendel, pp. 50-57; Murison, Egypt, §§ 32-35; 
Rawlinson, Story of Egypt, chs. 5-7. 3. Sargon of Agade. Rag- 
ozin, Chaldea, pp. 205-214; Murison, Babylon and Assyria, §§ 6-9. 
King, Sumer and Akkad, pp. 238-252. 4. The Fourteenth 
Chapter of Genesis, verses 1-5. Ragozin, Chaldea, pp. 221-224; 
Murison, Babylon and Assyria, §§ 13-14. 5. The Reign of Ham- 
murabi. Murison, Babylon and Assyria, § 15. 6. The Code of 
Hammurabi. The Biblical World, March, 1903, March 1904. 
7. The Kassites. Murison, Babylon and Assyria, § 16. 8. The 
Cuneiform Inscriptions. Encyclopedia Britannica, article "In- 
scriptions." 



3.— EGYPTIAN AND BABYLONIAN 
CULTURE 

18. Agriculture the Chief Occupation. — In that far- 
off period when the primitive inhabitants settled in the 
Tigris-Euphrates and Nile basins, the first and easiest 
things they found to do were the raising of cattle and 
the growing of grain. The wonderfully rich and well- 
watered soil produced for man and beast all kinds of 
plants for food. The cattle could be pastured in the 
luxuriant marshes by the river-banks. Seed sown in 
moist spots produced wonderful harvests, sometimes two 



PLATE IV 






IEMMMik3i^<f^CX-:^ll 




PAINTING FROM THE WALL OF AN EGYPTIAN TOMB 



Agriculture hy Irrigation 15 

hundred-fold and more. Soon a system of canals, dykes systems of 
and reservoirs was created to distribute the inundating ^^'eation. 
waters. By this means larger tracts of land were ob- 
tained for cultivation, until the entire valley was one vast 
garden. The majority of the people were farmers; the 
chief products of the lands were cattle and grain. The 
regular yearly inundations of the rivers kept the land 
fertile, and the bountiful soil continued from generation 
to generation to pour its wealth into the arms of the culti- 
vators. Its abundant products not merely supplied their 
needs, but furnished a surplus which they could store 
away or sell to other peoples less favored. It was this 
surplus that made the nations in these river-valleys rich 
and gave them their commanding position in the ancient 
world. 

19. Industry.— These lands were also the earliest 
seats of industry. The records show that already there 
were carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers, goldsmiths, silver- 
smiths, leather workers, potters, dyers, masons, miners, 
vintners, jewellers, and brickmakers. Each trade ap- 
pears to have been organized as a guild or union with 
a chief olficer. Egypt was specially famous for its won- 
derfully fine white linen; Babylonia for its woollens 
woven into cloths and rugs of various colors. Pa-py'- 
rus,* a tall reed growing in profusion in the Nile, was 
used by the Egyptians to make mats, rope, sandals, 
boats and writing material. Long strips of it were laid Paper, 
crosswise, pressed together and the surfaces polished off 
to make a rude kind of paper. The most important 
industry to the Babylonians was brickmaking. Stone 
was hard to get and clay was abundant. Hence all 
* From this word our "paper" is derived. 



16 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 



Of Baby- 
lonia. 



Babylonian buildings were of brick. Clay was the chief 
writing material of Babylonia. It was moulded, when 
soft, into cakes; into these the characters were pressed 
with a tool, and then the cakes were dried in the sun or 
in a kiln. One of their months, corresponding to our 
June, had a name which meant "the month of bricks," 
because it was the best time of the year for brickmaking. 

20. Commerce and Trade. — Trading was another ac- 
tivity of these peoples. The Egyptians traded chiefly 
among their own people up and down the Nile. Yet 
sea-voyages also were undertaken from an early period; 
and a regular maritime traffic, especially in lumber, was 
conducted by the Egyptians with the coast of Phoenicia 
whence they got the cedars of Lebanon which were 
greatly in demand in woodless Egypt. They obtained 
ivory, incense and spices, ostrich feathers and panther 
skins from the far south. They delighted also in strange 
animals, and made a specialty of importing apes and 
monkeys. But it was the Babylonians who were the 
chief traders. They extended their commercial opera- 
tions throughout the ancient eastern world. Having no 
stone and little wood in their own land they imported 
them. Cedar was brought from the Mediterranean 
coast, teak from India; stone came from the eastern 
mountains and even from western Arabia. They got 
gold and silver from the east in exchange for their grain 
and cloth. Their merchants ventured into the borders 
of distant countries with their wares, and carried thither 
knowledge of the Babylonian civilization. 

21. Organization of Society. — Men engaged in so many 
varied pursuits would very early be organized into com- 
munities. We have already said that our first glimpse 



King and Nobles 17 

of the peoples in the Tigris-Euphrates river- valley 
finds them living in city-states. The head of the state The King, 
was the king. He seems to have been first a priest, 
occupied with religious duties, and to have risen from 
the priesthood to the kingship. He was closest to the 
gods, as was also the king in Egypt, who was regarded 
as divine and called "the good god." Hence his power 
was supreme and absolute; he had "divine right." 
Obedience to him was the first duty of his subjects. 
But he must also be the benefactor of his people. He 
was the one who hunted and killed the wild animals 
that preyed upon the land; he led his people in war 
against their enemies. He was the source of law and 
the fountain of justice. Any subject could appeal to 
him for deliverance. Next, but far below him, came The 
the nobility. The greatest noble in Egypt must fall on ° "'^' 
his face and "snuff the ground" before the king; the Feudal So- 
highest honor was to be called the king's "friend." The *^'* ^' 
land had been divided among the nobles by the king, the 
sole owner; they held it at his will and paid him tribute 
and military service in return. They were his coun- 
sellors and assistants in government, the governors, the 
judges and the general of the army. Often they lived 
on their own estates in fine palaces surrounded by gar- 
dens; they ruled over their dependants as the king over 
the state. There was always danger that some one 
among them would become strong enough to aspire to 
the throne and rebel against his lord. The kingship 
was too glittering a prize not to attract an ambitious 
noble. Hence the king had to be strong and watchful. 

22. The People. — The common people played no part 
in public life, and it is hard to discover and to describe 



18 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 

their place in this ancient world. Probably very few 
of them owned land. That belonged to the king and 
nobles, who rented it out to tenant farmers. The latter 
cultivated the land personally or by means of free la- 
borers or slaves, and usually paid one-third of the yearly 
crop as rent to the proprietor. Slaves were not very 
numerous in this early period and were well treated. 
In Babylonia most slaves were the property of the tem- 
ples and were hired out by the priests to the farmers, 
who had to care for them if sick or injured; the free 
hired laborers had to look out for themselves. 

23. Merchants. — The artisans and tradesmen were not 
very highly regarded by the upper classes, but their 
growing wealth gave them increasing importance in the 
cities where they naturally gathered. Babylonian mer- 
chants began early to form an important class. Some 
trading families carried on mercantile operations from 
generation to generation, amassed riches, and engaged 
in banking. At first all trade was in natural products; 
cattle were exchanged for wheat or dates. But standards 
of value began to be set up by the use of the precious 
metals. They were fashioned in bars or rings and went 
by weight. In Babylonia the standard was the she'kel of 
half an ounce avoirdupois; sixty of these made a mi'na, 
and sixty minas a talent. In Egypt the deh'en, weighing 
three and a quarter ounces, was the standard. In those 
days silver was more precious than gold and copper was 
the commonest metal. Iron was rarer. It was possible 
to estimate the value of natural products in these stand- 
ards, and thus mercantile operations on a much greater 
scale could be engaged in. Soon the Babylonian mer- 
chants began to make loans, usually at a high rate of 



Justice , 19 

interest. Their security was often the person or family 
of the borrowers, who were rutlilessly seized and sold as 
slaves if payment was not made. Thus the merchant 
came to be more and more a power in the ancient 
world. 

24. Supremacy of Law. — One of the most wonderful 
things about this early world is that all these various 
activities of ancient life were firmly established on a 
basis of law. The chief reason for the organization and 
continuance of the state was that it secured justice for 
its mem.bers. Not violence but order was the rule. The 
symbol of rank was the staff, not the sword. The high- 
est official in Egypt under the Pharaoh was the Chief 
Justice. The Babylonians were particularly given to 
legal forms. When one sold his grain, or hired a la- The 
borer, or made a will, or married a wife, or adopted " ^^* 
a son, he went before the judge, and a document record- 
ing the transaction was written out and signed by the 
contracting parties in his presence. The document was 
then filed away in the public archives. In the case of a 
dispute arbitrators were employed or the matter was 
brought before the court. The opposing parties were 
sworn, and after the case was heard, a written verdict 

was rendered and accepted by the disputants, or an ap- 
peal was made to a higher tribunal. Thousands of these 
legal documents, decisions, bills, drafts, sales, orders, wills, 
etc., have been preserved to the present day. 

25. The Family. — The family was already a well- 
recognized institution. The father was its acknowledged 
head, but the mother was highly honored. No family 
was regarded as complete without children. In Baby- 
lonia it was common to adopt sons by process of law. 



20 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 

Respect and love for parents was taught and practised. 
"Thou shalt never forget what thy mother has done for 
thee," says Ani, the sage of Egypt, and another declares, 
"I have caused the name of my father to increase." 
Giving in marriage was the father's privilege and was 
arranged on a money basis. The wooer paid for his 

Marriage, bride according to his wealth. Usually the marriage 
ceremony was both civil and religious. The wife brought 
a marriage portion to her husband, which he had to re- 
turn if he divorced her. A man might buy more than 
one wife, but this was a luxury reserved for the rich and 
was of doubtful advantage to the peace of the home life. 
In the king's "harem" were gathered as many princesses 
as there were political alliances with neighboring rulers 
or nobles. The sense of family unity seems to have 
been stronger in Babylonia than in Egypt. The Baby- 
lonian father had the power of life and death over wife 
and children; the children called themselves after the 
names of their ancestors. In Egypt names were indi- 
vidual, containing no reference to family relations, nor 
do funeral epitaphs usually glorify the ancestors of the 
dead. 

26. Writing. — Both Babylonians and Egyptians had 
already invented systems of writing. These systems 
sprang out of the attempt to represent objects and ideas 
by pictures — a circle standing for "sun," or a winged 
creature for "flying," etc. Two changes took place in 

Picto- course of time. The pictures began to have various 

meanings and they came to lose their original form as 
pictures. So in Babylonia we have words represented 
by a series of lines thickened into a wedge at the end. 
Hence these signs are called, from the Latin word-cM'- 



graphs. 



Literature 21 

ne-us, "a wedge," cti'nei-form.. The Egyptians regarded 
their picture-signs as "divine" and "holy"; hence they 
are called hl'er-o-glyph'ics, from the Greek word hi'er-os, 
"holy," All these systems of writing, which seem to us 
so cumbrous and difficult, are nevertheless the foun- 
dation of our own alphabet, and in their day were a 
wonderful achievement which contributed immensely to 
human progress. 

27. The Scribe. — To master these methods .of writ- 
ing required special study, to which only a few could 
give themselves. These began as boys under the teacher, 
usually in the temple school, and graduated as scribes. 
To be a scribe was to enjoy an honorable and useful 
career in government employ, with the prospect of riches 
and advancement. To every king, prince, noble, gov- 
ernor or judge a scribe was indispensable for prepar- 
ing his despatches or decisions; indeed, everybody who 
wished to write a letter or to read one was dependent on 
the scribe. 

28. Literature. — Songs, stories and records had also 
been written. In other words, these peoples had a 
literature. It started with the priests, who were the its 
learned men of the time; therefore it was chiefly made EiemenT 
up of religious books, such as prayers and hymns for 
public worship. But there were also tales in prose and 

verse about divine heroes and their wonderful advent- 
ures. The most striking of these is the Babylonian 
epic of the Hero Gilgamesh, who seeks the fountain of 
immortality. In the eleventh book of this poem is the 
account of the deluge and the building of the ship in 
which one family of all human kind is saved — wonder- 
fully like the Bible story in Genesis. The Egyptians had 



22 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 

a fondness for stories o magic and fairy tales. Their 
poetry also was sometimes touching and thoughtful. 

"Mind thee of the day when thou too shalt start for the land 
To which one goeth never to return. 
Good for thee then will have been an honorable life; 
Therefore be just and hate transgressions, 
For he who loveth justice will be blessed; 
Then give bread to him who has no field 
And create for thyself a good name for posterity forever." 

29. Historical Literature. — A sense for literature and 
history is shown in the desire of kings and nobles to 
preserve memorials of themselves. Long autobiogra- 
phies are found in the tombs of Egyptian officials, and 
Babylonian kings proclaim their own deeds in inscrip- 

Libraries. tions upon slabs and images. King Sargon of Agade 
(§ ir) is said to have formed a library in his capital 
and to have collected hymns and rituals in a great work 
called The Illumination of Bel. Every Babylonian tem- 
ple also had its library where the temple documents and 
sacred books were placed. Many of these have only re- 
Lack of cently been unearthed. History involves more, however, 
than the making and keeping of records. They must 
be knit together so as to make a connected and intelli- 
gible whole. This was not done by either the ancient 
Egyptians or Babylonians; it was done imperfectly by 
the Hebrews. The Greeks were the real creators of 
history. 

30. Arts of Life. — No little degree of comfort in liv- 
The House, ing was cujoyed. The country houses of the aristoc- 
racy were roomy and surrounded by gardens in which 
trees, flowers and running water were found. The 
Egyptians had a passion for flowers, and at the banquets 



Real His- 
tory. 



Life and Customs 23 

the guests were garlanded with wreaths. The walls of 
the house were hung with brilliant tapestries. Stools 
and couches, the forms of which are still copied among 
us, constituted the furniture. In the Babylonian cities 
the palaces of the king and his ofhcials were built on 
platforms or mounds raised high above the plain, while 
the houses of the common people were crowded to- 
gether below them. The latter were simple and low, 
with thick mud walls and fiat roofs. The streets were 
narrow and dirty. The fire was started with a fire- 
stick and bow. The dining-table was a low bench. Food and 
around which the family squatted and partook of the "^'^ ' 
usual meal of dried fish, dates and cakes of ground 
grain. Beer was the universal drink, though wine was 
also very common. When an Egyptian gave an enter- 
tainment he usually invited his friends to a ''house of 
beer," or a roast goose. They slept on low couches or 
on mats spread on the floor. The Egyptian's pillow was 
a wooden head-rest, which, though hard, was cool and 
did not disarrange his wig. The priests shaved their 
heads, other people wore their hair short, and all well- 
to-do persons wore wigs. Although the beard was 
shaven, the pictures represent the nobles with false 
beards as a sign of dignity. In Babylonia, on the con- 
trary, the prevailing fashion was to wear hair and 
beard long. The fundamental article of dress was the Dress, 
cloth that was wrapped about the middle of the body. 
Additions were made to this by the better classes; the 
cloth was lengthened to the knees or a quilted skirt was 
worn. The Egyptian was most careful about cleanliness 
in dress, and the laundryman is a conspicuous figure on 
the monuments. In Egypt nothing was worn on the 



24 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 

head; the Babylonian aristocracy are represented with 
flat caps. To go barefoot was customary, or, at most, 
sandals were worn. Ointments and cosmetics were used 
by men and women alike and for the entire body. A 
man's street costume was not complete without a cane; 
in Babylonia everyone carried a seal, which served him 
when he wished to sign his name. A variety of recrea- 
tions is illustrated by the Egyptian monuments. Hunt- 
ing birds and hippopotami in the Nile marshes was the 
favorite sport of the nobles. Bull-fights, wrestling, dan- 
cing, singing and playing on musical instruments were 
greatly enjoyed; even games of checkers and chess are 
found. 

31. The Higher Arts. — Thus the higher arts were 
early reached. Both peoples accomplished much in 
architecture. Although the Babylonians had only bricks 
as building material, they erected massive and efifective 
temples and palaces. A mighty terrace forty or more 
feet high was first built and on this rose the temple 
which usually culminated in a tower made of solid 
stories of brick placed one above another, each succes- 
sive story smaller than the one beneath it — the whole 
often reaching one hundred feet in height. Egypt's most 
splendid structures were the Pyramids, built to serve as 
tombs of the kings. The pyramid of the Pharaoh Khu'fu 
of the fourth dynasty was a mass of limestone and gran- 
ite over 755 feet square at the base, thus covering 13 
acres, and rising to a point at a height of 481 feet; the 
sides were faced with blocks so nicely fitted together as 
to look like a single mighty surface smooth and shining. 
In the heart of it was the funeral chamber, the roof of 
which was so carefully adjusted to bear the enormous 



Science 25 

weight above it as not to have yielded an inch in the 
course of the ages.* 

32. Sculpture. — In the Httle as well as the great the 
ancients of these days showed remarkable skill. In the 
engraving of hard stones, the Babylonian artists ex- 
celled, while the gold and brightly colored inlay work of 
the Egyptians is surprising. The pottery is both useful 
and artistic, and the furniture affords models for the 
present day. The statues from hard granite, or harder 
diorite, were cut and polished with amazing fineness. It 
is true that grace and naturalness are rarely found in the 
pose and modelling of the figures. The Egyptians not 
only did not understand perspective, but they mixed up 
the profile and front views of their human figures in a 
grotesque manner. The statues, however, from both 
peoples, while stiff, are strong, real and impressive. 
You feel that they are for eternity. 

33. Science. — What was known of the natural world, 
its laws and its forces, was a strange compound of 
truth and error. Many of nature's secrets had been 
pierced. The movements of the heavenly bodies were Astronomy, 
mapped out. The year of 365^ days was determined. 
Eclipses were calculated. Men were familiar with the 

points of the compass and the signs of the Zodiac. The 
decimal system was employed, and joined with it was 
the sexagesimal system (10 x 6). Weights and measures 
were carefully worked out on the basis of the hand- 
breadth. The sun-dial and the water-clock measured 
time. The mechanical skill shown in building is amaz- Mechanics, 
ing. The arch, the lever and the inclined plane were 
known. Engineers of to-day, if they had only the means 

* The roof -beams of granite were cracked by the earthquake of 27 B.C. 



26 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture \ 

then available, would have serious difficulty in putting 
some of the stones of the Pyramids into their places, if 
Cosmog- indeed they could accomplish it at all. On the other 
°°^' hand, the earth was regarded by the Babylonians as an 

inverted bowl, its edges resting on the great watery deep. 
On its outer surface dwelt mankind. Within its crust 
was the dark abode of the dead. Above and about it, 
resting on the ocean of waters, was the heaven, another 
inverted bov/1 or disk, on the under side of which moved 
the heavenly bodies; on the outer side lay another ocean 
beyond which dwelt the gods in eternal light. The stars 
were thought to have influence, either good or bad, on 
Medicine, the life of men, and hence were carefully studied. The 
study of medicine consisted of a search for strange com- 
binations of incongruous substances, in which a wise 
prescription or a useful discovery came only by chance. 
The blood of lizards, the teeth of swine, putrid meat, the 
moisture from pigs' ears are among Egyptian remedies 
for illness. No study of Nature for her own sake, but 
only for practical ends or from religious motives — this 
was the vital weakness of the science of the ancient east. 
34. Religion. — The main factor in the life of these 
peoples was their religion. It inspired their literature, 
their science and their art. It was the foundation of 
their social and political life. Priests were judges, 
scribes, teachers and authors. Temples were treasuries, 
fortresses and colleges as well as places of worship. All 
this means that one of the first problems that these men 
had to face was their relation to the world about and 
above them. They sought to solve this problem by be- 
lieving that they were surrounded by higher beings with 
whom it was possible to get on in peace and harmony. 



PLATE VI 







^^; 



■s. 



^<^ 



^-^ L 



-*---'" 




'\ 



Copyright, ign:;^ by A. y. flohnan &■ Co. 

From "Explorations fn Bible Lands During the Nineteenth Century." 



A Babylonian Temple (Nippur) 




An Egyptian Temple (Luxor) 
ORIENTAL TEMPLES 



Religion 27 

This belief, and the worship that sprang out of it, was General 
religion; it had everything to do with primitive society. Go^ds!° 
In the periods which we are studying, religion was far 
advanced. Had you gone into a city of Egypt or Baby- 
Ionia and talked with a priest of the temple, he would 
have told you that, as there were gods for every city, so 
his city had its god who cared for and watched over its 
people; the king was his representative or even his son. 
God gave rain and fruitful seasons to the farmer and 
prosperity to the merchant; he saved from sickness and 
calamity; he appointed 'udges to give true judgments 
and governors to rule uprightly. In turn the king 
reared the temple to the glory of the gods and estab- 
lished the priesthood to offer daily sacrifice of grain and 
cattle to them; he gave to the gods of the spoils of war 
and of the harvest, and hither the people brought their 
gifts and paid their vows. Had you asked the Baby- The Baby- 
lonian who was this God, he would have replied: "Bel, Godl 
'the Lord'; or the Sun, or the Moon, or the Storm 
Wind, or the Watery Deep — all gods of power afar off. 
Nevertheless they are very watchful of man, who, often 
sinful and deserving of punishment, feels himself de- 
pendent on them, and comes to them with psalms and 
prayers of penitence when they have brought plague and 
sorrow upon him for his sin." To the same question The 
the Egyptian would have replied: "Re,* the Sun, who Gods."^° 
moves -daily over the sky in his boat scattering blessings 
upon his children, before whom flowers spring up and 
fields bloom, whom we praise in the morning at his ris- 
ing and at even in his setting — and a thousand other 
gods of animals and plants who love us and are ever 

* Pronounced Ray. 



28 Egyptian and Babylonian Culture 

near to bless us by their mysterious presence and favor." 
The Future And had you asked about the Kfe after death the Baby- 
lonian would have shaken his head and spoken of the 
future as dark and sad when the spirit, torn from the 
body, goes down to the dusky abode of the dead, 'to 
drag out a miserable existence. But the Egyptian, with 
hopeful face, would have told you how to keep the body 
as an eternal abode of the spirit by mummifying it and 
putting it in a deep tomb far from decay and disturbance; 
or he would have spoken of the fields of Aaru, a happier 
Egypt beyond the sky, where, after passing through the 
trials of the underworld, by the aid of the god Osiris 
and the power of the Book of the Dead, or in the sun- 
boat of the god Re, the soul would at last be united with 
the body in a blissful immortality. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. Mention some things peculiar to 
Egyptian culture? 2. Why were the scribes important? 
3. What is meant by papyrus, deben, nome, cuneiform, feu- 
dal, shekel, hieroglyphic, dynasty? 4. Name with dates the 
grand divisions of ancient history. 5. At about what time 
were the Pyramids built? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Early Babylonian Cities. 
Goodspeed, pp. 49-53. 2, Elamite Invasions of Babylonia. 
Goodspeed, pp. 66-70. 3. Babylonian Civilization, (a) Family 
Life: Government, Goodspeed, pp. 79-85. {b) Industries, Good- 
speed, pp. 73-79. (c) Literature, Goodspeed, pp. 31-36, 86-91. 
{d) Babylonian Art, Goodspeed, pp. 94-101. 4. How the Early 
Egytians Lived, (a) Industries and Sources of National Income, 
Breasted, pp. 30-33, 88-92. (b) Family and Homes, Breasted, 
pp. 83-88. (c) Burial Customs, Breasted, pp. 36-38, 65-73. 
{d) Religion, Breasted, pp. 47-48, 55-73. (e) The Egyptian Art, 
Breasted, pp. 95-102. 5. Growth and Change in the First 
Period of the Empire in Egypt. Breasted, pp. 195-206. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Egyptian 
•Agriculture and Arts and Crafts. Ennan, Life in Ancient 



The Hyksos 29 

Egypt, pp. 425-520. 2. Babylonian Civilization. ISrurison, 
Babylonia and Assyria, ch. 15. 3. Relations between Egypt and 
Babylonia. King, Sumer and Aklcad, pp. 321-348. 4. What 
Countries Have Once Had a Feudal System? See Encyclopedia 
Britannica, articles "Feudalism" and "Japan." 5. Modern Irri- 
gation in Egypt: the Assouan Dam. Cosmopolitan, Aug., 1901; 
Idler, 22, 257; Nature, 67, 1S4. 

MAP AND PICTURE EXERCISES, i. Draw a rough map of the 
ancient oriental world illustrating the crescent-shaped forma- 
tion suggested in § 2. Locate as many countries and cities as 
possible. 2. From plate II, 1-4, try to enumerate the physical 
characteristics of the Semitic type of man. 3. From plate 
IV find as many illustrations as possible of the life described 
in §§ 18-34. 



4.— THE EGYPTIAN (NEW) EMPIRE 

1580-1150 B.C. 

35. The Hyksos Invade Egypt. — The feudal kingdom 
of Egypt, after the brilHant days of the twelfth dynasty 
(§ 8), fell into decay. The nobles gained more power 
and rose up against their kings. Foreign peoples in- 
vaded the land and added to the confusion. Finally, 
not long after the Kassites entered Babylonia (§ i6), 
invaders from western Arabia and Syria burst into Egypt 
through the isthmus of Suez and took possession of the 
northern half of the land. They also made southern 
Egypt tributary, though the seat of their own power was 
in the north. From the name given to their leaders they 
are usually called the Hyksos. 

Man'e-tho (§ yw), as quoted in a writing of Josephus the Jew, 
tells among other things why this name was given to them. He 
says: "There came up from the east in a strange manner men of 
an ignoble race, who had the confidence to invade our country, and 



30 The Egyptian Empire 

easily subdued it by their power without a battle. And when they 
had our rulers in their hands, they burnt our cities and demolished 
the temples of the gods and inflicted every kind of barbarity upon 
the inhabitants, slaying some and reducing the wives and children 
of others to a state of slavery. At length they made one of them- 
selves king. ... He lived at Memphis and rendered both the upper 
and the lower regions of Egypt tributary and stationed garrisons in 
The Shep- places which were best adapted for that purpose. All this nation 
herd (?) ^^g Styled Hyksos, that is, Shepherd Kings; for the first syllable, 
Hyk, in the sacred dialect denotes 'king,' and sos signifies 'shepherd,' 
but this only according to the vulgar tongue; and of these is com- 
pounded the name Hyksos J' 

36. Expulsion of the Hyksos. — The Hyksos ruled over 
Egypt for a century (about 1675-1575 B.C.). The peo- 
ple adopted the manners and customs of the Egyptians, 
and the kings ruled like the native Pharaohs. Yet the 
Egyptians could not forget that they were foreigners. 
A rebellion broke out in the south, gathered strength, and 
war was waged for years. The princes of Thebes were 
leaders of the rebels, fighting for the deliverance of their 
country and their gods. It was a fierce struggle. The 
mummy of one of these princes, now in the Cairo Mu- 
seum, shows a great slash on the head received appar- 

The Siege cntly in ouc of these battles. After, perhaps, half a cen- 
tury of fighting, the foreign princes who had made their 
last stand in their capital A-va'ris, and had sustained there 
a siege of many years' duration, were driven out of 
Egypt into the northeast whence they had come. The 
native Egyptians recovered their land, and the princes 
of Thebes, who had led them so valiantly, had their re- 
ward. They became kings of Egypt. 

37. The New Warlike Spirit. — The Egyptians hitherto 
had been a peaceful people. They had enlarged their 



of Avaris. 



I 



The Asiatic Campaigns 31 

domains in the early days chiefly by entering the penin- 
sula of Sinai and making expeditions up the Nile into 
Nubia. But now circumstances made it possible for them 
to do greater things. The Hyksos had brought the horse The Horse, 
with them into Egypt,* and in war much more could be 
done by means of horses. Chariots could be employed, 
longer marches made. The Egyptian army had been 
trained in the new art of war and seasoned by the long 
and fierce struggle with the Hyksos. The Pharaoh, their 
leader, had become a warrior eager for military glory. 
The gods of Egypt, represented by their priests, called 
for vengeance on their enemies and for the extension of 
their divine sway over the distant lands. So the Egyp- 
tians embarked on a new career — a career of conquest. 
Thereby they transformed Egypt from a kingdom into an Egypt an 
empire, the second empire of the ancient world (§ 15). Empire. 

38. The Eighteenth Dynasty. Thutmose III.— The 
conquering monarchs make up the eighteenth dynasty 
(1580-1350 B.C.). The greatest of them was Thut'mose 
III, who ruled in the sixteenth century. He made at 
least sixteen campaigns into the northeast through the 
regions on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. 
Twice, perhaps thrice, he reached the Euphrates, and The Eu- 
even crossed the river into Mesopotamia. The Egyp- g'^^^'tYan" 
tian empire reached from central Nubia in the south to R'^er. 
the northern mountains and the Euphrates, Egypt suc- 
ceeded Babylonia in supremacy over Syria. 

Thutmose III had a long account of his expeditions written on 
the walls of one of his temples in Thebes. His first campaign lasted 

* The horse had been known in Egypt and in Europe at some period 
exceedingly remote, but it disappeared in both places before the dawn 
of history. 



32 The Egyptian Empire 

about six months, from April to October, during which he covered 
about two thousand miles and fought at least one great battle at 
Megiddo. The following is the king's description of the battle: 

"Command was given before his whole army, saying, 'Prepare ye, 
make ready your weapons, for we move to fight with the vile enemy 
to-morrow.' The baggage of the chiefs was prepared and the pro- 
visions of the followers, and the sentinels of the army were spread 
abroad; they said 'Firm of heart, firm of heart, watchful of head, 
watchful of head.' On the twenty-first day of the month, even the 
same as the royal coronation, early in the morning command was 
given to the entire army to advance. His Majesty went forth in his 
chariot of electrum adorned with his weapons of war. His Majesty 
was in the midst of them, the god Amon being the protection to his 
body and strength to his limbs. Then his Majesty prevailed over 
them at the head of his army. When they saw his Majesty prevail- 
ing over them, they fled headlong to Megiddo, as if terrified by spirits; 
they left their horses and their chariots of silver and gold, and were 
drawn up by hauling them by their clothes into this city, for the men 
shut the gates of this city upon them. The fear of his Majesty en- 
tered their hearts, their arms failed, their mighty men lay along like 
fishes on the ground. The great army of his Majesty drew around 
to count their spoil. The whole army rejoiced, giving praise to 
Amon for the victory that he had given to his son, and they glorified 
his Majesty, extolling his victories." 

39. Wars with the Hittites. — The victorious kings of 
the eighteenth dynasty held this region for a century. 
Their rule culminated in the reign of Ikh-na'ton (1375- 
1358 B.C.) who, breaking free from all the national tradi- 
tions, founded a new religion and a new capital and tried 
in vain to recast Egyptian art, society and customs. 
Then a new enemy came down from the north, the Hit- 
tites, who began to contest the possession of the north- 
Ramses n. ern half of Syria. The famous Pharaohs, Se'ti I (about 
1313-1292 B.C.) and Ram'ses II (1292-1225 B.C.), of the 
nineteenth dynasty, fought with them for many years. 



II 



Wealth of Egypt 33 

At last Ramses made a treaty with their king, Khe-ta'sar, 
which was the basis of a lasting peace between the two 
peoples. From this time the Egyptian empire practi- 
cally extended only to the Lebanon mountains. A cen- 
tury later the Hittite kingdom in Syria disappeared be- 
fore the advance of a horde of peoples migrating down 
the coast of the Mediterranean from Asia Minor (about 
1 1 70 B.C.). Ramses III, of the twentieth dynasty, was Ramses 
then on the Egyptian throne. He summoned all his 
forces to withstand the invaders, and dispersed them in 
a great battle on the northern border of his empire. 
Pharaohs continued to rule in the Nile valley, but their Decline of 
power over Syria was soon lost. Thus the second im- tian Em- 
perial state of the ancient east disappeared (1150 B.C.). p"^®- 

40. Results of Empire upon Egypt. — As a result of its 
conquests, Egypt had become very rich in gold and slaves. 
Hence, money and cheap laborers were plentiful for build- 
ing operations. Temples of unequalled grandeur were 
reared. The capital city, Thebes, was the scene of the Architect- 
most splendid exhibition of this architecture. The tem- 
ples on the sites now known as Karnak and Luxor 
(parts of the city of Thebes) were and have ever since 
remained among the wonders of the world. Every great 
king of these dynasties enlarged and beautified them, 
wrote an account of his exploits upon their walls and en- 
riched their priests by splendid offerings. The Karnak 
temple — the work mainly of Seti I and Ramses II — was 
a quarter of a mile long and 379 feet wide at the main 
front — more than twice as large as St. Peter's Church at 
Rome. Am'on, the god specially worshipped at Thebes, 
became the great god of Egypt, beside whom other gods 
seemed of no account. The kings set up colossal statues 



34 The Egyptiaii Empire 

of themselves In the temples. One of Ramses II, found 
in northern Egypt, was some ninety feet high and 
weighed about nine hundred tons. Abundant wealth 
gave also the leisure to study and write; hence the liter- 
ature of the Egyptian empire is most abundant. Love- 
songs, hymns to the gods, theological works, romances, 
and letters are among the writings preserved. One of 
the most famous is a kind of epic history describing the 
deeds of Ramses II in a battle with the Hittites. From 
the name of the scribe who copied it, it is called the 
Poem of Pentaur. 

The most stirring part of it presents Ramses II cut off from his 
army and surrounded by the enemy. Ramses calls upon his god: 
"How is this, my father Amon? Does a father then forget his son? 
I have done nothing, indeed, without thee. He is miserable who 
knows not god. Have I not erected to thee many monuments, in 
order to fill thy temple with my spoil ? I call to thee, my father 
Amon. I am in the midst of many people, I am quite alone, my 
foot-soldiers and my chariot force have forsaken me. When I 
called to them, I found that Amon was better to me than millions of 
foot-soldiers and hundreds of thousands of chariots. The works 
of men are as nothing; Amon is more precious than they. Do I 
not call from the ends of the world ? Yet Re has heard me, he comes 
to me when I call. He calls from behind me: 'Thou art not alone, 
I am with thee, I, thy father Re; my hand is with thee.' I take 
heart again. What I desire to do, that happens. Behold, none of 
them are able to fight before me, their hearts melt, their arms fall, 
they cannot shoot. I slay them according to my will. Not one of 
them looks behind him and not one of them turns round. He who 
falls of them rises no more." 

41. The Weakness of Egypt. — Yet in the higher arts 
Egypt in this period was not superior. Bigness rather 
than beauty was the ideal of art and architecture. Fine 
writing and swelling words rather than clear and deep 



Government 35 

thought were the rule. Indeed, the whole structure of the 
state and society was artificial and not a natural growth. 
The building was made great and splendid by slave labor 
and foreign money; the Egyptians were enfeebled by the 
luxury which they enjoyed. In all that constitutes true 
greatness Egypt was not so strong as in the earlier days. 
42. Organization of the Empire. — Egypt in these 
centuries better deserved the name of an empire than 
did its predecessor, Babylonia. It was more thoroughly 
organized. Whenever the Pharaoh conquered a city- 
state of Syria, he laid upon its king the obligation to pay 
a yearly sum as tribute. Sometimes he took the king's 
eldest son to his coun to be educated. Garrisons of 
Egyptian troops were placed in some cities, and governors 
were appointed in certain districts. Even communities 
of Egyptian people went out to dwell in towns of Syria. 
Such bodies of settlers are called colonies. The Pharaoh 
kept in close relations with his governors and subject- 
kings through constant correspondence with them and 
by sending out inspectors from time to time to exam- 
ine into their affairs. 



43. A mass of this official correspondence with two kings of Tel-el- 

Amarna 
Letters. 



the eighteenth dynasty was discovered in Egypt recendy at Tel-el- A.™^^^ 



Amarna, and is called the Tel-el-Amarna Letters. They contain 
despatches from governors and princes of Syria. Some are from 
the king of Jerusalem; other letters are from the rulers of Babylonia 
and Assyria, with replies from the Pharaoh. All of these are written 
in the Babylonian character— a fact which shows how deeply Baby- 
lonian civilization had influenced the ancient world. Even Egyp- 
tian kings wrote to their Syrian subjects in Babylonian, It was the 
diplomatic* language of the day. 

* The language which different states use in dealing with each other. 
Diplomacy is the science of international relations. 



36 The Egyptian Empire 

44. The Home Government. — Egypt as an empire was \ 
very different from the Egypt of the preceding feudal \ 
period. The feudal nobility had been wiped out by the in- 
vasion of the Hyksos and the wars of deliverance. Their 
property fell into the hands of the king, who now became 
the one proprietor of all Egypt. This property he rented 
out to the people for a percentage of its product. Some 
of it he gave to the generals of his armies. They were 

The Army, his officials, govcmors and judges. The army was now 
a standing institution, under arms at all times. Though 
not so at first, it gradually came to be made up in large 
part of foreigners who were paid for their military ser- 
vice. Such soldiers are called "mercenaries." A mer- 
cenary army was a dangerous machine, since the sol- 
diers were held to the imperial service only by the money 
that they gained from it. The spoils of the wars made 

The many of them very rich. The religious officials, the 

priests, also profited by the wars, since a part of the : 
spoils of victory was given to the gods of Egypt, whose 
ministers they were. The temples became wealthy and 
powerful establishments. Their property was not taxed, 
and their people did not have to perform military ser- 
vice. Thus it came about that the chief elements in the. 
state were now three — the king, the army and the priests. 

45. An Ancient "Corner" in Wheat. — In the Old Testament 
the change in the position of the king is said to have been brought '• 
about by a foreign prime minister, the Israelite statesman and hero, 
Joseph. The Book of Genesis says: "He gathered up food in the 
cities, corn as the sand of the sea. And there was famine and the 
people cried unto Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said: 'Go unto J 
Joseph; what he saith to you, do.' And Joseph sold unto th^| 
Egyptians. And when the money was all spent, Joseph said: 'Give ' 
your cattle.' And they brought their cattle and Joseph gave them 



Priests. 



The Decay of Egypt 37 

bread in excliange. And they said: 'Buy us and our land for bread, 
and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh.' So Joseph 
bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Only the land of the 
priests he bought not; for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, 
and did eat their portion: wherefore they sold not their land. Then 
Joseph said unto the people: 'At the harvests ye shall give a fifth 
unto Pharaoh and four parts shall be your own.' And Joseph 
made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day that 
Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests alone 
became not Pharaoh's." 

46. Later Egypt — ^to Alexander. — While the empire of 
Egypt was falhng away the priests got the upper hand. 
After ruhng for about a century by the side of a series of 
weakhng kings, they finally seized the government (1090 
B.C.) and reigned openly. Next came the turn of the Rule of the 
army and for over two hundred years (945-712 B.C.) sowier's 
the Libyan mercenaries lorded it vigorously over Egypt. 
An end was put to their domination by the Nubians 
(Ethiopians) who, pushing down the valley, mastered it 
to the mouth of the Nile; but their sway was still inse- 
cure when the Assyrians came and added Egypt to their 
dominions (670 B.C.). In the interval between the dis- 
solution of the Assyrian and the rise of the Persian em- 
pire, Egypt enjoyed a brief period of independence, and 
under the intelligent rule of Psam-met'i-cus I and II and 
A-ma'sis of Sa'is, the valley of the Nile was opened to 
Greek enterprise and the Milesian colony of Nau'cra-tis 
was planted in the delta. This settlement might have an- 
ticipated the later prosperity of Alexandria had it not been 
that in 525 B.C. Cam-by'ses, the second Persian king, con- 
quered Egypt, and, making it into a province of his vast 
empire, postponed by two centuries the Greek exploita- 
tion of the Nile valley. A new chapter in the history of 



and For- 
eigners. 



38 The Egyptian Empire 

ancient Egypt was opened on its occupation by Alexan- 
der the Great in 332 B.C. 

47. Egypt a Mummy. — The period of one thousand 
years from the death of Ikhnaton onward was one of utter 
stagnation in Egypt. For generation after generation Hfe 
followed the old forms. Dynasty after dynasty came and 
went, but the great body of the people remained unchanged 
in their ideas and habits. The last word had been said 
on all the problems of human life by religion. To change 
any custom was sacrilege. Freedom of thought and in- 
vention there was none. The nation itself was mummi- 
fied. It had nothing to teach the Greeks when they came 
in contact with it: at most it offered an impressive and 
suggestive spectacle for their curious observation. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what were the following famous : 
Ramses II, Thutmose III, Ramses III ? 2. Who were the 
Hyksos, the Hittites? 3. What is meant by Tel-el-Amarna 
Letters, noma, empire? 4. For what are the following places 
noted: Karnak, Assur, Memphis, Luxor, Nippur, Meggido? 
5. When did Ramses II live? 6. At about what date was 
the departure of the Israelites from Egypt? 7. Describe the 
causes for and the events in Egypt's period of decline. 8. 
How was Egypt mummified? 9. Through what channels did 
the Greeks have intercourse with the Egyptians ? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Hyksos: Their Effect 
upon Egypt. Breasted, pp. 175-184. 2. Amenhotep III, the 
Last Great Egyptian Emperor. Breasted, pp. 248-263. 3. 
Ikhnaton, an Individual. Breasted, pp. 269-289. 4. The Influ- 
ence of Asiatic Conditions upon Egypt. Breasted, pp. 373-383. 
5. The " Downfall of Egypt." Breasted, pp. 412-418. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Invasion of 
the Hyksos. Murison, Egypt, §§ 36-40; Rawlinson, Story of 
Egypt, chs. 8-9. 2. Thutmose III. Murison, Egypt, §§ 45-47; 
Rawlinson, Story of Egypt, pp. 189-206. 3. Ramses II. Muri- 
son, Egypt, § 55; Wendel, pp. 87-95; Rawlinson, Story of Egypt, 



Migrations from Arabia 39 

pp. 238-252; Sayce, Ancient Empires, pp. 43-46. 4. The Hittites 
and Their Empire. Encyclopedia Brilannica, article "Hittites." 
5. The Temples of Thebes. Rawlinson, Story of Egypt, see in- 
dex under "Temple of Ammon," of "Karnak." 6. Egyptian 
Civilization. Murison, Egypt, chs. 13-15. 7. The Book of the 
Dead. Murison, Egypt, ch. 12. 8. Apply the following utter- 
ance of an Egyptian Sage to Egyptian history of this Epoch : 
"If thou hast become great after having been little, harden not thy 
heart. Thou art only become the steward of the good things of 
God." 



5.— THE SYRIAN STATES 

1150-900 B.C. 

48. New Immigrations. — The passing away of the 
Egyptian empire about 1150 B.C. was not followed — as 
might have been expected — by the advance of the states 
of Assyria and Babylonia to seize her lost supremacy. 
One of those tremendous overflows of people from cen- 
tral and northern Arabia, such as took place from time 
to time when there was not food enough in the desert to 
supply the population, flooded the northern districts of 
Mesopotamia and Syria. These peoples, called the Ara- The 
means, thus cut off communication between east and *™^^°s. 
west. At the same time a similar horde, called the The chai- 
Chaldeans (Kaldi), entered southern Babylonia. Both ^^^°^* 
Assyria and Babylonia, therefore, had all they could do 

to defend themselves and could not advance westward. 

49. The Opportunity of Syria. — One region of the an- 
cient world had now the opportunity to assert itself — 
that between the Nile and the Euphrates — Syria. Here 
was the scene of the attempts' at empire in the next two 
centuries (1150-900 b.c). During this time Syria was 
the real centre of historical life. Four peoples of this 



40 The Syrian States 

Its Four region came forward and made up the history of the 
''°^^*" time. These were the Phoenicians^ the PhiUstines, the 
Israehtes and the Arameans of Damascus. 

50. The Phoenicians. — The Lebanon mountains, as 
they run down along the eastern Mediterranean from 
the north for two hundred miles, throw out spurs from 
time to time into the sea and leave here and there spaces 
of coast from one to live miles wide and six to twenty 
Land. milcs long. In these petty patches of earth, with the 

high mountains at their back and the blue sea before 
them, the Phoenicians cultivated the fertile soil, built 
occupa- cities and learned to sail the sea. Beginning by trading 
''°°®" with each other and with the people of the interior, they 

went on to make voyages to more distant parts and to 
carry the wares of the east to the less advanced western 
lands. When the Egyptian kings ceased to rule over 
Tyre's them, they were free to act for themselves. At first 

Supremacy, their most important city was Si'don, but at an early date 
Tyre, situated on a rocky island about half a mile from 
shore, obtained the leadership among them and became 
the commercial centre of the east and west. The mer- 
chandise of Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Arabia, Armenia, 
not to speak of the lesser peoples, was brought to Tyre. 
Raw materials were received and turned into manufact- 
ured articles in Tyrian workshops — metal into arms, 
toilet articles and furniture; wool into cloths which were 
marvellously colored by means of the dye made from 
shell-fish found on the Phoenician coast. All these ma- 
terials were taken out in Phoenician ships and exchanged 
for native products at trading posts established at dif- 
Phoenician fercut poiuts on the Mediterranean. Already the Phce- 
tion, nicians had settled in the island of Cyprus, seventy miles 



The Phoenicians 41 

to the west. Some points in the iEgean sea were touched, 
but the Greeks were too strong there, and the Phoeni- 
cians went on to the regions of the western Mediterra- 
nean. The north African coast, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, 
the Bal'e-ar'ic islands, were occupied. Spain, with its 
mines of precious metal, was a rich centre of Phoenician 
enterprise. Out into the Atlantic fared their adventurous 
ships, southward to the latitude of the Canary islands 
and northward to Britain. 

51. Phoenician Trading. — Herodotus describes a typical instance 
of Phoenician trading: "When they have come to a land and un- 
load the merchandise from their ships, they set it in order along 
the beach and return aboard their ships. Then they raise a smoke, 
and the natives of the land, seeing the smoke, come to the shore 
and lay down gold as much as they think the goods are worth; then 
they withdraw quite a distance. The Carthaginians upon that come 
ashore again and look; if they think the gold enough, they take it 
and go their way; but if not, they go on board again and wait. The 
others approach and add more gold till they satisfy them. They 
gay that neither party wrongs the other; for they themselves do not 
touch the gold till it comes up to the value of their wares, nor do the 
others lay hands on the goods till the gold has been taken away." 

52. The Chief Colonies. — Most of their settlements 
were temporary trading posts, but in some districts, 
where wealth and prosperity seemed to be constant, 
they established permanent colonies. The most famous 
of these were Cit'i-um in Cyprus, Utica and Carthage in 
north Africa, Ga'des (Cadiz) in Spain and the cities of 
western Sicily. The tie between the colony and the ^ colonial 

, . Empire. 

home-land was close. The mother city usually main- 
tained a political and religious supremacy. Thus Tyre 
under its kings was during these centuries the head of. 
a flourishing colonial empire. 



42 The Syrian States 

53. Phoenician Services to Civilization. — The Phoeni- 
cians carried things more valuable than the merchandise 
of the east to the western world, for they also made 
known to it the higher arts of life. Thus the systems 
of weights and measures, the achievements of eastern 
art, and, above all, the alphabet, became the possession 
of the peoples of the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians 
improved upon these things before they handed them 

The on. This is especially true of the alphabet. In the 

^ ^ ^ ■ interests of their business activities they so simplified 
and modified the various modes of writing acquired 
by them from the eastern nations, that we are not able 
to say from which one of the eastern systems, whether 
the Egyptian, or the Babylonian, or the Arabian, the 
Phoenician alphabet is derived. We only know that the 
Phoenician alphabet with its twenty-two phonetic charac- 
ters is the basis of ours. 

54. The Philistines.— The Phoenicians made their con- 
quests upon the shores of the Mediterranean in the 
peaceful ways of trade. Not so arose the other great 

Origin. statcs of Syria. Closely connected with the mighty mi- 
gration from the coast of Asia Minor in the time of 
Ramses III (§39), a new people came, possibly from 
Crete, and seized the broad plain which lies at the south- 
eastern corner of the Mediterranean. The Philistines 
— called by Ramses III the Peleset — though they were 
evidently not Semites, accepted the language and cus- 
toms of the Semitic cities which they ruled.* As these 
cities lay on the main routes of trade from Egypt into 
Asia, their lords, the Philistines, were rich and power- 

* The five cities of the Philistines were Gaza, Gath, Ashdod, Askalon 
and Ekron. 



PLATE VII 




Brick of Hammurabi Recordmg 
the Building of a Temple 



Cretan Tictographic Writing from 
Pliccstos 








im^'mit 







Clay Tablet, with Linear Script. 
Palace of Minos, Cnossos, Crete 



The Rosetta Stone 



ANCIENT SYSTEMS OF WRITING 



The Israelites 43 

fill and flourished exceedingly. They were a fighting 

folk, far superior in weapons and the arts of war to the 

peaceful Semites about them, and soon began to make 

their power felt throughout the whole maritime plain 

from Mt. Carmel in the north to the highlands in the 

east. They began to push up into the interior and came Expansion. 

into conflict with a people that had settled the mountain 

valleys some time after they themselves had conquered 

the plain. This people was Israel, one of the tribes 

known as the Hebrews (§ 4). 

55, The Hebrews Appear. — At first the Hebrews had wandered 
through the southern part of Syria (Palestine), but in the time of the 
Hyksos kings they entered northern Egypt. There, after the Hyk- 
sos had been driven out, they were oppressed, by Ramses II, it is 
thought, and in the last years of the nineteenth dynasty, led by the 
hero Moses, they escaped into the eastern desert, delivered from the 
Egyptians by Jehovah their god at the crossing of the Red sea (about 
1200 B.C.). Israel, after escaping from Egypt and wandering for a Israel, 
generation in the desert south of Syria, moved to the east of the 
Dead sea, crossed the Jordan river and burst into the highlands of 
Palestine about 1150 B.C. Here, as we have seen, he came into 
collision with the Philistines. 

In the first encounters Israel was badly beaten, although in fact, 
as will soon appear, the Philistine victories were only temporary. A Palestine, 
proof of the importance and renown of the Philistines is seen in the 
fact that the name by which southern Syria is known — Palestine — 
is derived from the Philistines. 

The Israelites were a wild, wandering folk with a Religion, 
sirnple faith in their god, Jehovah, who had given them, 
through Moses his servant, the Ten Commandments, 
and was for them the one supreme lord of justice and 
truth, their deliverer and friend. From him they de- 
rived their moral law which they have passed on to the 
Christian world. 



44 



The Syrian States 



Samuel 

the 

Prophet. 



Saul the 
Warrior. 



Jerusalem. 



The Ten Commandments are the noblest brief collection of the 
laws of right living that has come down from the ancient world. 
They are the following: 

I am Jehovah thy God: 

1. Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 

2. Thou shalt ijot make unto thee a graven image. 

3. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy god in vain. 

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 

5. Honor thy father and thy mother. 

6. Thou shalt do no murder. 

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

8. Thou shalt not steal. 

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness. 
10. Thou shalt not covet. 

56. National Feeling. — After a century occupied in 
overcoming the people of the region, called the Canaan- 
ites, and settling down as farmers, they began to desire 
a national life and an organized government. What 
brought this to a head was the attack and temporary 
supremacy of the Philistines (§55). A religious leader, 
Samuel, organized a band of prophets who went about 
preaching deliverance through Jehovah and stirred up 
the people to rebellion. He also presented to them a 
king whom Jehovah had chosen, Saul, a frank, impetu- 
ous, mighty man of valor. He became the first king of 
Israel (about 1050 B.C.), and beat back the Philistines. 

57. David the Hero. — After his death David was 
chosen king, another heroic and magnetic warrior, who 
was also a man of genius and statesmanship. He built 
up an army with which he defeated his enemies, extended 
the authority of Israel over neighboring peoples and 
made its influence felt as far north as the Euphrates 
river. His greatest work was the establishment of the 
national capital at Jerusalem, where the king dwelt, the 



Solomon 45 

court assembled, justice was administered and Jehovah 
was worshipped as the national god. 

58. Solomon the Organizer. — David was followed by 
his son Solomon (about 975 B.C.). As his father had 
been the founder of the state, so he begame its organ- 
izer. He had a masterly mind for politics and adminis- 
tration. To break up sectional feeling and to weld the 
state firmly together, he divided the land into twelve dis- 
tricts as the basis for his administration. He instituted 
regular taxes, had a standing army, entered into alli- 
ances with neighboring states. One of the most impor- Partnership 
tant of these alliances was that with Hiram, king of ram. 
Tyre, the most brilliant of the Phoenician rulers. To- 
gether they made commercial expeditions on the Red 

sea and the Indian ocean. Solomon also allied himself 
with the king of Egypt and married his daughter. He 
made trading alliances with the peoples of the north. 
Thus Israel became a nation among the other nations 
of the world. Solomon used his abundant wealth to 
strengthen and beautify his kingdom, building cities 
and fortresses at strategic points for trade and defence. 
Jerusalem was the object of his special attention. There The Tem- 
he built palaces, walls and the famous Temple, the ^^* 
wonder and pride of his people, for the worship of Je- 
hovah. When he died, Israel was the leading state of 
Syria, and a splendid future seemed to be assured. 

59. Weakness of Solomon's Regime. — But Solomon 
Was in advance of his people and his time. The people 
resented his strict government with its taxes, its mili- 
tary service, its forced labor on the palaces and forts. 
They had been only two centuries out of the free life of 
the desert, and the memory of it remained. They did 



46 



The Syrian States 



The Dis- 
ruption. 



At 
Damascus. 



Growth. 



Wars with 
Israel. 



not care to play the imperial role which Solomon de- 
signed for them. When after his death his son contin- 
ued his father's policy, the northern tribes refused to 
recognize him and elected another king, leaving him to 
be king over his own tribe, Judah. This event is known 
as the Disruption (about 930 b.c); it was the death- 
blow to the position of Israel as a world-power. Hence- 
forth there were two kingdoms on the highlands of Pal- 
estine — Israel in the north and Judah in the south. 
The capital of Judah remained at Jerusalem. Israel's 
new capital was placed at Samaria. Israel's kings tried 
to play the part of David and Solomon on a smaller 
scale, while Judah was content to lead a quiet and se- 
cluded life under the descendants of those great rulers. 
60. The Arameans. — By this time (925 B.C.) the Ar- 
ameans, who had migrated into Syria (§ 48), had be- 
come settled. Both David and Solomon had come into 
contact with them. One of their leaders got possession 
of the city of Damascus, where he set up a kingdom 
(about 975 B.C.). Damascus was the chief trading 
centre of Syria, the halting-place of caravans, where 
merchants from Egypt and the east met to exchange 
their wares and to supply the wandering tribes thatj 
came in from the neighboring desert. The city was 
beautiful for situation, lying in the midst of a well^ 
watered and fertile valley on the edge of the desert, mid-j 
way between the Mediterranean and the Mesopotamiai 
valley, between Egypt and the Euphrates. The Ara^ 
mean kingdom planted at this strategic point soon bej 
came powerful and began to lay its hand upon the disi 
tricts round about,. Soon it came into touch with Israel] 
and the relations, at first friendly, passed later into tn\ 



The Hebretv Prophets 47 

mity, each power striving for mastery over the land of 
Syria. 

6i. The End of Syrian Greatness. — Neither of these 
states, however, was destined for empire. The troubles 
that had held back the greater powers on the Euphrates 
and Tigris were over; the brief career of splendor for 
the kingdoms of Syria was at an end. Already Assyria 
was knocking at the gates of the west, and the conflicts 
of Philistia, Judah, Israel and Damascus were swallowed 
up in the fiercer struggle of all against the oncoming As- 
syrian might. Thus a new period of the history of the 
ancient east was ushered in. 

During the period of the Assyrian advance into Syria a series 
of great political and religious leaders appeared among the Jews. 
These men were known as the Prophets. They taught that The 
Jehovah was the Lord, not of Judah alone, but of the whole world; Prophets, 
that He was using the Assyrian [and afterward the Chaldean 
and Persian] kings as instruments to punish the Jews for their 
sins. They, therefore, preached not resistance to their national 
foes but righteousness, repentance of sins and careful observance 
of the will of God. The Prophets were the greatest thinkers 
which the world of the ancient east produced. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. Who were the Arameans, the Kas- 
sites, the Canaanites, the Chaldeans? 2, For what were the 
following places noted : Carthage, Damascus, Jerusalem, 
Thebes, Gades, Tyre, Gaza? 3. For what were the follow- 
ing persons famous: Solomon, Hammurabi, Thutmose? 
4. Prepare a map showing the extent of Phoenician coloniza- 
tion. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Syria's International Rela- 
tions. Goodspeed, pp. 1,^1-136. 2. The Philistines. Good- 
speed, pp. 1S2-184. 3. Conquests in Syria by Shalmaneser II. 
Goodspeed, pp. 213-216. 4. Sennacherib's Excursion against 
Syria. Goodspeed, pp. 26S-272. 



48 The Empire of Assyria 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Phoe- 
nicians. Sayce, Ancient Empires, pp. 178-209; Ragozin, Assyria, 
ch. 3. 2. Moses and His Work. Encyclopedia Britannica, ar- 
ticle "Moses." 3. The Reign of David. Encyclopedia Britannica, 
article "David"; Kent, History of Hebrew People, United King- 
dom, pp. 136-168. 4. The Story of the Disruption, i Kings, 
ch. 12; Kent, Divided Kingdom, pp. 1-25. 5. The Temple at 
Jerusalem. Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Temple"; Inter- 
national Encyclopedia, article "Temple" ; Kent, United King- 
dom, ch. 13. 



6.— THE EMPIRE OF ASSYRIA 

900-606 B.C. 

Early 62. Assyria. — The kingdom of Assyria since the days 

of its beginning (§17) had fought with Babylonia, at 
first for its own existence and then for mastery in the 
Mesopotamian valley. Meanwhile it had pushed up the 
Tigris and taken firm possession of the country between 
the upper course of the river and the eastern mountains. 
Besides the city of Assur, its chief centre was Nin'e-veh,j 
destined to be the capital of the empire. In the north- 
eastern upland corner of Mesopotamia, life was not so 
easy as in Babylonia; the climate was colder, the land 
less fertile, wild beasts plentiful, the mountaineers threat- 
ening. Hence, the Assyrians had to fight with nature 
and man for their life, and by this training became 
hardy and warlike. They had to make their way by 
sword and spear rather than by plough and spade. 

63. Assyrian Expansion.— Their early efforts at ex- 
pansion were checked by the Aramean migration into 
Mesopotamia (§ 48), which forced them back into their 
own borders and thus gave Syria its opportunity for in- 
dependent empire. But by 900 B.C. the Arameans had 



I 



Conquests 49 

settled down and Assyria lifted her head. Under a vig- Advance 
orous and fearless king, whose name was Ash'ur-nats'ir- ^^^^^ ''^^ 
par, the conquering movement began anew. He brought 
northern Mesopotamia, as far as the Euphrates, and 
southern Armenia under the yoke. His son crossed the 
Euphrates and made northern Syria subject. His great- 
grandson carried the Assyrian arms to the southwest as 
far as Philistia. Thus by 800 B.C. the Assyrian armies 
had marched throughout the length and breadth of Syria. 

64. Conquest of Babylon. — The next century saw the 
downfall of Babylonia, when the Assyrian conqueror, 
Tig'lath-pi-le'zer III, in 728 B.C., became king in Baby- 
lon. Fifty years later Egypt became subject (670 B.C.); occupation 
in another generation Elam was conquered (645 B.C.). and 0^1116 
Meanwhile Assyrian armies had marched into the North, 
mountains surrounding the Mesopotamian plain. In 

the northwest they penetrated into Asia Minor; in the 
northeast they reached the Caspian sea. In extent and 
power Assyria was the mightiest empire that the ancient 
world had known. 

65. Assyria at Its Height. — Assyria reached this splen- 
did height during the reigns of four rulers, the first 
of whom was Sargon (722-705 B.C.), who was followed 
in regular succession by Sen-nach'er-ib (705-681 B.C.), 
E'sar-had'don (681-668 B.C.), and Ash'ur-ban'i-par 
(668-626 B.C.), each the son of his predecessor. Under An Empire, 
these kings Assyria became an imperial state. Conquered 
countries were organized into districts under the rule 

of an imperial officer who had a military force at his 
command and was responsible for order and peace; lie 
collected the taxes and administered justice. Such dis- 
tricts we call provinces. Assyria was the first to intro- 



50 



The Empire of Assyria 



Provincial 
Govern- 
ment. 



In the 
West. 



Fall of 
Damascus 
and Sa- 
maria. 



J 



duce provincial government — a great advance in im 
perial administration. The Assyrians also invented the 
plan of removing the inhabitants of a city or district 
from their homes and putting in their places other people 
from a distant part of the empire. This is called depor- 
tation. It destroyed the old feeling of local patriotism 
and made people more willing to accept the rule of the 
central government. Thus the empire was built up 
solidly and all parts of it united under the rule of the 
great king at Nineveh. 

66. Rebellions of Vassals. — That Assyria's govern- 
ment of conquered countries was not perfect is shown 
by the many rebellions that arose among them. When- 
ever they had the slightest encouragement to revolt, 
they flew to arms. Thus Syria was constantly being 
stirred up by Egypt, which during these centuries was 
under the rule of the Libyan kings, and was trying to 
get back its lost empire. In 745 B.C. Damascus and 
Israel joined in such rebellion; as a result Tiglathpileser 
III put an end to Damascus and severely punished Israel. 
The latter, however, rebelled again, and perished at the 
hands of Sargon in 722 B.C. All the better classes of 
citizens were deported and the state became an Assyr- 
ian province. 

The king describes his capture of Samaria and punishment of 
Israel in these words: "The city of Samaria I besieged; 27,290 
inhabitants of it I carried away captive; fifty chariots in it I took 
for myself, but the remainder (of the people) I allowed to retain their 
possessions. I appointed my governor over them, and the tribute 
of the preceding king I imposed upon them." 

67. Rebellions in Judah. — Judah's king, Ahaz, had 
already submitted to Assyria, but his son and successor. 



Rebellions 51 

Hez'e-ki'ah, joined in a rebellion of the Syrian states, 
which brought Sennacherib on the scene in 701 B.C. 
He punished the rebels severely, but met with a disaster 
which compelled him to retire without capturing Jeru- 
salem. 

The Old Testament describes the disaster thus: "It came to pass 
that night that the angel of Jehovah went forth and smote in the 
camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: 
and when men arose early in the morning, behold, they were all 
dead corpses. So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed, and went 
and returned and dwelt at Nineveh" (2 Kings 19: 35, 36). 

68. Rebellions in Babylonia. — A mighty revolt arose 
in Babylonia against Ashurbanipal. The Chaldeans 
(§ 48) had been unceasing enemies of Assyria ever since 
her entrance into Babylonia, and now secured the aid 
of the Elamites (§ 5). At this time a brother of the As- 
syrian king was governor of Babylonia; he made com- 
mon cause with them and invited other subject peoples 
to join the conspiracy. The storm broke in 652 B.C.; 
only by the most tremendous efforts did Ashurbanipal 
gain the victory. The faithless brother perished in the 
flames of his palace, and the other rebels, with their 
allies, were fearfully punished. 

69. Assyrian Civilization. — The kings of the family of 
Sargon were wealthy and proud monarchs. Magnificent Architect- 
palaces were built by them at Nineveh. Sargon founded "*' 

in connection with his palace a city capable of holding 
eighty thousand people. The palace itself filled twenty- 
live acres and had at least two hundred rooms. The sculpture, 
halls were lined with sculptured slabs of alabaster pict- 
uring the king's campaigns; at either side of the great 
door-ways stood mighty winged bulls carved in stone. 



52 The Empire of Assyria 

The royal temple-tower with seven stories, each story 
faced with tiles of a color dijfferent from that of the 
others, rose out of the palace court one hundred and 
forty feet high. Inscriptions describing the mighty deeds 
of the kings in war and peace were written on the palace 

Libraries, walls or on great monuments standing in the courts. In 
the palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh was a library 
consisting of tens of thousands of clay books arranged 
on shelves. They consisted in part of official documents 
and also of the choicest religious, historical and scien- 
tific literature of the Babylonian and Assyrian world. 
Ashurbanipal tells us of his youthful training, how "he 
acquired the wisdom of (the god) Nabu, learned all the 
knowledge of writing of all the scribes, and learned how 
to shoot with the bow, to ride on horses and in chariots 

The Debt to and to hold the reins." The Assyrians, however, were 
a practical, not a literary, people; they were content to 
accept all the learning of the Babylonians and did not 
add to it. Their language and religion follow Baby- 
lonian models. The god Ashur, the lord and patron of 
the state, the leader of the armies in war, stood at the 
head of the gods, the rest of whom have the same names 
and characteristics as those of Babylonia. It is only just 
to add, however, that nothing comparable in vigor and 
composition to the Assyrian reliefs was produced by the 
earlier people. 

70. Assyrians as Administrators. — The Assyrians were 
good warriors and excellent administrators. They knew 
how to conquer and how to rule better than any peo- 
ple that had hitherto appeared. They broke down the 
separate nations of the east and welded them into a 
unity. They spread abroad the civilization of the east 



Babylon. 



PLATE VIII 




An Assyrian Relief. Hunting Scene- 




An Assyrian Relief. Battle Scene, the Storming of a City 
TYPICAL ASSYRIAN SCENES 



The Fall of Assyria 53 

throughout the empire and extended commerce. But The Fatal 
they did not know how to attach conquered peoples to ^^^'^"^^s- 
themselves and give them something to do beyond pay- 
ing taxes. They were just, but not generous; toward 
rebels and obstinate enemies they were outrageously 
cruel. Hence their empire, although superior to all its 
predecessors, did not endure. 

Ashurnatsirpal describes the punishment of a rebellious city as fol- 
lows: "I drew near to the city of Tela. The city was very strong; 
three walls surrounded it. The inhabitants trusted to their strong 
walls and numerous soldiers; they did not come down or embrace 
my feet. With battle and slaughter I assaulted and took the city. Assyrian 
Three thousand warriors I slew in battle. Their booty and posses- ^'"^''y- 
sions, cattle, sheep, I carried away; many captives I burned with 
fire. Many of their soldiers I took alive; of some I cut off hands and 
limbs; of others the noses, ears, and arms; of many soldiers I put 
out the eyes. I reared a column of the living and a column of heads. 
I hung up on high their heads on trees in the vicinity of their city. 
Their boys and girls I burned up in the flame. I devastated the city, 
dug it up, in fire burned it; I annihilated it." 

71. The Fall of the Assyrian Empire. — The fall of As- 
syria was sudden and startling. At the death of Ash- 
urbanipal, in 626 B.C., the empire seemed strong. But 
on the eastern mountains the Medes had been gath- 
ering from the far east, ready to descend upon the 
plains in irresistible power. For a time Assyria beat 
them off, but they returned. At last the province of 
Babylonia broke away and allied itself with the Medes. 
This was the finishing stroke. The next assault was 
successful. Nineveh was taken in 606 B.C., and, with Destruction 
its capture, Assyria vanished. So complete was its col- °^ Nmeveh. 
lapse that the very site and name of Nineveh disap- 
peared from the knowledge of mankind, only to be re- 



54 The Heirs of Assyria 

covered by the investigations of scholars and travellers 
in the last century. 



REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what were the following places 
noted: Samaria, Assur, Nineveh, Tyre? 2. For what were 
the following famous: Sargon of Assyria, Sargon of Agade, 
Ashurbanipal, Ramses II? 3. What is meant by province, 
colony, shekel? 4. When did Sargon of Assyria live? 5. 
What is the date of the fall of Nineveh? 6. What is the differ- 
ence between Syria and Assyria? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Earliest Assyria. Good- 
speed, pp. 127-130. 2. The Expansion under Tiglathpileser I. 
Goodspeed, pp. 160-172. 3. The Kings of the House of Ashur- 
natsirpal. Goodspeed, pp. 185-222. 4. The Rule of Sargon II. 
Goodspeed, pp. 243-264. 5. The Fall of Assyria. Goodspeed. 
pp. 320-330. 6. The Palace of Sargon. Goodspeed, pp. 259- 
261. 7. The Heirs of Assyria. Goodspeed, pp. zZi-i3^- 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Rise of 

Assyria. Murison, Babylonia and Assyria, ch. 3. 2. The Dynasty 
of Sargon. Murison, Babylonia and Assyria, §§ 36-38. 3. The 
Fall of Assyria. Murison, Babylonia and Assyria, §§ 59-61. 4. 
The Palace of Sargon. Ragozin, Assyria, pp. 278-294; Maspero, 
Ancient Egypt and Assyria, ch. 11. 5. The Library of Ashurban- 
ipal. Ragozin, Chaldea, Introduction, cti. 4; Maspero, Ancient 
Egypt and Assyria, ch. 16. 6. " The Assyrian came down like 
a wolf on the fold:" Does this line of Byron justly characterize 
Assyrian warfare ? 



7.— THE MEDIAN, CHALDEAN (NEW BABY- 
LONIAN) AND LYDIAN EMPIRES 
606-539 B.C. 

72. Medes and Babylonians Heirs of Assyria. — The 

Medes, whose sudden attack overthrew^ the Assyrian 
empire, had been sifting into the eastern mountains for| 
more than a century. They were the rear guard of a] 



The Medes and CJialdeans 55 

migration of Indo-European peoples (j^ 5) which was to 
ovcrwhehii the Semitic world (jj 3) and usher in a new 
era. Their alliance with the rebellious province of Baby- 
lonia brought about Assyria's fall and meant the divis- 
ion of the world between the two victors. The Medes 
received the eastern and northern mountain regions, 
stretching from the Persian gulf to Asia Minor. The 
Babylonians obtained the Mesopotamian valley west of 
the Tigris and the Mediterranean coast-lands. Thus 
two empires sprang up where Assyria had once ruled. 

73. The Chaldean Empire. — Babylonia's rebellion 
against Assyria really marked the victory of the Chaldeans 

(§ 48) in their long struggle with the Assyrians. The new webuchad- 
Babylonian empire therefore was a Chaldean empire. '■^^^*'■• 
It had a short career of splendor under its greatest king, 
Neb'u-chad-rez'zar (605-562 B.C.), who, secure from 
outside attack by his alliance with the Medes, devoted 
himself to the strengthening of his empire and the resto- 
ration of the land and cities of Babylonia. He had End of 
trouble with the subject kingdom of Judah, which re- 
belled several times and was finally destroyed, its capi- 
tal, Jerusalem, burned to the ground and the Jews de- 
ported to Babylonia (586 B.C.). There they soon be- 
came an industrious and wealthy part of the population. 
The king spent vast sums of money in fortifying and 
beautifying the city of Babylon. He surrounded it with 
a triple wall, built splendid palaces and made magnifi- 
cent gardens for his Median wife. Babylon in his time 
was the largest, richest and most wonderful city of the 
ancient world. 

74. The Median Empire. — Meanwhile the Median em- 
pire had been having a checkered experience. In the far 



56 



The Heirs of Assyria 



northwest it had come into conflict with the expanding 
empire of Lydia, which had reduced all Asia Minor 
under its yoke. From the north new migrations of 
Scythians, a wild nomadic folk from central Asia, poured 
over the borders. In the east and south a people closely 
related to the Medes was growing in numbers and im- 
portance. This people, called the Persians, was for a 
time in subjection to the Medes. Under the leadership 
of a great prince called Cyrus they rose up against their 
Median lords and succeeded in overthrowing them. In 
the year 550 B.C. Cyrus became king of the combined 
peoples and founded the Persian empire. 

75. The Kingdom of Lydia. — The Babylonian rulers 
that followed Nebuchadrezzar set themselves with the 
other powers of the world in opposition to Cyrus. Of 
these the most important was the kingdom of Lydia. It 
owed its greatness to the dynasty of Gy'ges who at about 
700 B.C. had set aside the old ruling family of Midas 
and put himself in its place. Gyges and his successors 
— in particular Crce'sus (560-546 B.C.) — conquered the 
entire coast of Asia Minor, making all the Greek cities, 
except Mi-le'tus, tributary. They also extended their 
sway to the Hellespont and in the interior to the Ha'lys 
river, thus becoming by far the most powerful and opu- 
lent state in the peninsula. The fame of Croesus for 
wealth was so great that his name has become a syno- 
nym for riches. Through his realm lay a main highway 
from Assyria and Babylon to the ^Egean sea and a mixed J 
culture developed in Lydia which was at once sympa- " 
thetic to Greece and the orient. The father of Croesus 
had fought with the Medes but later had made a peace 
with them (585 B.C.). Now Croesus joined with Egypt, 



Home of the Persians 57 

and even the leading Greek state, Sparta, in the en- 
deavor to put a stop to the victorious career of Cyrus. 
It was all in vain. Cyrus defeated Croesus, king of His Over- 
Lydia, and captured him and his capital, Sardis (546 ^^^°'"- 

B.C.). 

76. Fall of Babylon. — Babylon was then attacked, and 
yielded to him in 539 B.C. Thus the last Semitic em- 
pire of the Mesopotamian valley passed away and a new 
race took the reins of government over a wider world 
than had ever fallen within the bounds of an ancient state. 

8.— THE EMPIRE OF PERSIA: ITS FOUNDING 
AND ORGANIZATION 

550-500 B.C. 

77. The Persian Land and People. — Not only did the Persis. 
Persians belong to another race than the Semites of the 
Tigris-Euphrates valley, but the centre of empire was 
shifted by them farther to the east. This centre was 

the broad and lofty region east of the Tigris, from which 
the Za'gros mountains rise. These consist of a series of 
high ridges running north and south with fertile valleys 
between. The whole country lay on an average four thou- 
sand feet above the sea and suffered from wide extremes 
of climate. The people who inhabited it were vigorous 
and hardy, simple in manners, given to the raising of 
cattle and horses, or, in the few fertile valleys, to agri- 
culture. Such were the Medes and Persians. Their 
capitals lay in this region — Ec-bat'a-na in the north, 
Per-sep'o-lis in the east and Susa in the west. From 
this lofty land they went forth east and west to conquest 
and the founding of their empire. 



58 The Empire of Persia 

Iran. 78. Their Outlook. — To the east lay the mighty table- 

land of Fran — i,ooo miles long and 700 miles wide — 
girt about with high mountains. The greater part of 
it is desert; only in the north and northeast are fertile 
districts. On the slopes of the northern range along the 
southeastern coast of the Caspian sea lay Hyrcania; far- 
ther to the east was Parthia; far to the northeast in the 
valleys of the lofty eastern mountains on the route lead- 
ing from Eastern Turkestan over to India was the rich 
land of Bactria. The western lands are familiar to us — ■ 
the Mesopotamian valley, the coast-lands of the eastern 
Mediterranean leading down to Egypt, and in the north- 
west, Armenia, stretching away to the table-land of 
Asia Minor and the coasts of the ^gean sea. Such 
was the prospect opening before the Persians, eager to 
enter into the struggle for the possession of these broad 
lands. 

79. Cyrus. — Cyrus, as we have seen, was the leader of 
the Persians in this world-campaign; his conquest of 
the empires of Media, Lydia and Babylonia has already 

His Career, been described. During the remainder of his career he 
seems to have added the eastern lands to his domain and is 
said to have died in battle with an insignificant folk on 
the far northeastern borders (530 B.C.). At the time of 
his death his eldest son, Cambyses, was the heir to the 
throne, and a younger son, Bard'i-ya, was governor of the 

His Char- northcastem lands. Cyrus made a deep impression upon 

acter. ^]^g ^^^^ q£ j^-g ^^^ ^^^ ^f ^^^^-g^ timcs. A Jewish 

prophet hailed him as the one called by Jehovah to 
deliver the Jews from their Babylonian captivity. The 
Greek, Herodotus, calls him the father of his people, 
and says that in the estimation of the Persians he was 



Dainus 59 

above all comparison, being of all those of his time the 
bravest and the best beloved. 

80. Cambyses. — For Cambyses, his successor (530- 
522 B.C.), one region remained unconquered — Egypt. 
This he added to his domains. Before departing for 
Egypt he had caused Bardiya to be put to death for fear 
of his attempting to seize the throne. But this did not 
prevent a pretender named Gau'ma-ta from stirring up 
rebellion during his absence in Egypt, and Cambyses 

died while returning to punish him. It seemed that the Darius, 
pretender might succeed, but Darius, a cousin of Cam- 
byses, was able to kill the rebel and to secure the throne 
after fierce struggles in the heart of the realm. He ruled 
for thirty-six years (521-485 B.C.) with splendid vigor 
and wise statesmanship. 

81. The Organization of the Empire. — Persia, on the 
accession of Darius, occupied the entire known world of 
the east. This world was a natural geographical whole, 
some 3,000 miles in length and from 500 to 1,500 miles 
in width, surrounded for the most part by seas, mountains 
or deserts — " more than half the size of modern Europe." 
But little attention as yet had been given to its organi- 
zation. This was the first and most memorable work 
of Darius. He followed the Assyrian system (§ 65) and 
improved upon it. The empire was divided into about officials, 
twenty provinces, each in charge of an official called the 
satrap. Two assistants were given him, a secretary and 

a general. All were appointed by the king; each was 
independent of the others and kept watch upon them. 
This arrangement made the three efficient and kept them 
faithful. Each province had to pay taxes according to Taxes, 
its ability; so wisely was the income from all Sources 



Provinces. 



60 The Empire of Persia 

organized that the sum realized may have been worth 
fifty million dollars yearly. A system of coinage was in- 
stituted and three royal coins were minted — the gold daric 
($5), the silver stater (50 cents) and the silver drachma 

Army. (25 cents) . The army v/as made up of an imperial guard, 

of native Medes and Persians, the "Immortals," and of 
troops from the various provinces. The strongest corps 
of the service was the cavalry armed with the bow. In one 
thing especially the Persian government was superior to 

Care of those that had gone before — in its provincial system. The 
kings took special interest in the affairs of the province to 
secure its peace and prosperity. Its customs and religion 
were not interfered with. The satrap was enjoined to 
secure justice and protection to the inhabitants. Trade 
was encouraged. Roads were built and travel was made 
safe and comfortable. A royal post carried messages from 
the capital over these roads to the ends of the empire. 

Herodotus describes the royal post in these words: "There is noth- 
ing mortal which accomphshes a journey with more speed than these 
messengers, so skilfully has this been invented by the Persians; for 
they say that according to the number of the days of which the en- 
tire journey consists, so many horses and men are set at intervals, 
each man and horse appointed for a day's journey. Neither snow 
nor rain nor heat nor darkness of night prevents each one of these 
from accomplishing the task proposed to him with the very utmost 
speed. The first rides and delivers the message with which he is 
charged to the second, and the second to the third; and so it goes 
through handed from one to the other." 

82. The Early Persians. — ^Physically the early Per- 
sians were great, strong men, with thick hair and beard, 
clear-eyed and active; in character they were pure- 
hearted and brave. The common people were intensely 



Persian Religion 61 

devoted to their chiefs, who exhibited the characteristic 
Persian virtues at their highest. Herodotus tells us that 
the training of the sons of the nobles consisted in riding, 
shooting the bow and speaking the truth. Their relig- Their 
ion was lofty and inspiring. By their prophet, Zo'ro- ^''2'°°- 
as'ter, who lived about looo B.C., they were taught that 
two supreme divine Powers were in conflict for the mas- 
tery of the world — the Power of Good and the Power 
of Evil. Zoroaster called upon them to choose the 
Good and fight for him against the Evil, to hate the 
Lie and to love the Truth. Thus, all life was for them 
a moral conflict, brightened by the faith that the Good 
and True would finally be victorious. This simple and 
sublime doctrine made them men of courage, nobility 
and virtue, conscious of a mission to fulfil in the world. 

83. Effect of Culture on the Persians. — But they were 
still an uncultivated folk. When they came into pos- 
session of the wide eastern world with its higher culture 
and its lower morals, they were gradually corrupted. 
They accepted the higher culture, but they were also 
affected by the lower morality. This change appears 
prominently in the royal court. The Babylonian forms 
of court life were adopted. Persian devotion to the 
chief became slavish subjection to the Great King, 
whose slightest wish was law. The sudden increase of loss of 
wealth, following upon the possession of the world, pro- ^^^ll 
duced luxury and feebleness. In the realm of art and 
architecture the ideals and achievements of Assyria and 
Egypt were the models. Magnificent royal palaces at 
Susa and Persepolis show little if anything that is new 
in artistic style. An imposing grandeur appears, rising 
out of the combination of all the old forms that the ar- 



62 The Empire of Persia 

tists of the Semitic world had worked out, but that is all. 
Of course these changes in manners and culture came 
slowly. Later history was to reveal how low the Per- 
sians were to fall before their work was done and their 
empire was swept away. 

84. "Wars of Darius. — Besides his scheme of organ- 
ization, Darius extended his empire by means of war. 
In the far east he advanced into India and added ■ the 
valley of the Indus river to his dominions. In the west 
he marched through Asia Minor across the Bosporus 
Contact to attack the Scythians (about 510 B.C.). This expedi- 
Greece. ^ion brought him into close contact with the Greeks. 
It was the most important among a series of events 
which led to the wars between the Persian empire and 
the Greek states. With these wars the Greeks came 
fully into the current of the world's history, to hold,^ 
henceforth, the commanding position. Hence the centre 
of our study shifts from the east to the west, from Persia 
A.NewAge. to Greece. The old world of Asia falls back; the new 
world of Europe takes its place (500 b.c). 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what were the following famous: 
Cyrus, Nebuchadrezzar, Darius? 2. Who were the Scythians 
the Lydians, the Jews, the Chaldeans? 3. For what are tl 
following noted: Sardis, Carthage, Susa, Tyre, Persepolis^ 

4. What is meant by drachma, papyrus, s&trap, province? 

5. When did Nebuchadrezzar live? 6. When did Cyrus live? 

' SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Medo-Persian Tradition. 

Goodspeed, pp. 320-326. 2. Nebuchadrezzar and Judah. Good- 
speed, pp. 337-347. 3. The Renaissance of Babylonia under 
. the Chaldeans. Goodspeed, pp. 353-360. 4. The City of Baby- 
lon. Goodspeed, pp. 360-366. 5. Cyrus, the Enemy o^^a^- 
lon. Goodspeed, pp. 372-376. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Baby- 
lon of Nebuchadrezzar. Murison, Babylonia and Assyria, § 67; 



General Review 63 

Ragozin, Media, etc., ch. 9. 2. The Victories of Cyrus. Rago- 
zin, Media, etc., ch. 11. 3. The Story of the Accession of Darius. 
Herodotus, Book IT, pp. 67-S8; Ragozin, Media, etc., ch. 13. 4. 
The Organization of the Persian Empire. Encyclopedia Britan- 
nica, article "Persia"; Sayce, Ancient Empires, pp. 247-250; 
Ragozin, Media, etc., pp. 384-391. 5. The Scythian Expedition 
of Darius. Herodotus, Book IV, pp. 1-142; Ragozin, Media, etc., 
PI). 412-429. 6. The Palaces of Persepolis. Sayce, Ancient Em- 
pires, pp. 270-272; Ragozin, Media, etc., pp. 391-41 1. 



GENERAL REVIEW OF PART I 

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION, i. What were the chief in- 
fluences of the geography of the oriental world upon its his- 
tory? See §§ I, 2, 4, 13, 50, 62, 77, 78. 2. How did the in- 
vasions of the desert and mountain tribes affect the history 
of the oriental world? See §§ 5, 16, 35, 48, 55, 72, 74. 3. What 
were the chief commercial products of the oriental world 
and from what countries did each come? See §§ 18, 19, 20, 
52, 53. 4, What special contribution to modern civilization 
was made by each of the great peoples studied? 5. Trace 
the growth of government in the oriental world, showing how 
new ideas were added from time to time. See §§ 6-9, 11, 12, 
15, 21, 37, 42, 52, 58. 65, 81. 6. What were the main points 
of difference between the various religions of the. oriental 
world? See §§ 34, 40, 55, 82. 

MAP AND PICTURE EXERCISES.* i. Compare Babylonian- 
Assyrian and Egyptian architecture as illustrated in Plate VI. 
2. Enumerate such defects in Egyptian art as appear in Plates 
IV, XXII. 3, From a study of Plate VIII, what subjects were 
most successfully treated by the Assyrian artists? How does 

I this illustrate the national character? 4. What conclusions 
as to mode of fighting may be drawn from Plate III? 5. Draw 
an outline map from memory of the field of ancient oriental 
history, locating as many places and countries mentioned as 
possible. 

TOPICS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS, i. The Pyramids. Maspero, 
Dawn of Civilization, p]). 3''3-377; Egyptian Arcliaeology, ch. 3; 

* See Appendix II and Tarbell, History of Greek Art, pp. 1-46. 



64 The Eastern Empires 



Rawlinson, Story of Egypt, ch. 4; History of Egypt, ch, 7; Ency- 
clopedia Britannica, article "Egypt" (sub-division "Pyramids"). 
2. Compare the laws of Hammurabi given in the text with 
the laws of the Hebrews contained in Exodus, chs. 21-23; 
Deuteronomy 15 : 12-14; 19 : 16-21. See also The Biblical World, 
March, 1903, pp. 175-190. 3. What did the ancient oriental 
people think of the world? Maspero, Dawn of Civilization, pp. 
16-22; Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Cosmology." 4. Write 
an account of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt from 
the standpoint of an Egyptian, using the account given in 
Exodus, chs. I -14, as the basis of your study. 5. What na- 
tions had stories of the flood? Ragozin, Story of Chaldea, ch. 
6; Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Cosmology," also "Deluge." 
6. What did the Nile do for Egypt? Maspero, Dawn of Civiliza- 
tion, ch. i; Rawlinson, Story of Egypt, ch. i; Encyclopedia Britan- 
nica, article "Egypt." 7. The Education of an Assyrian Boy. 
Sayce, Babylonians and Assyrians, ch. 3; Goodspeed, History of 
Babylonians and Assyrians, § 261. 8. Life and Times of Nebu- 
chadrezzar. Goodspeed, Part IV, chs. 2-3; Maspero, Passing of 
the Empires, pp. 513-568; Harper, in Biblical World, July, 1899; 
Ragozin, Media, etc., ch. 9. 



II. THE GREEK STATES 

2500-200 B. C. 

PRELIMINARY SURVEY 

85. Physical Geography of Greece. — From the vast 
plains, broad rivers, mighty mountain chains, trackless 
deserts, high table-lands, magnificent empires of the an- 
cient east — where the works of nature and man alike 
are huge, massive, steadfast and overpowering, and his- 
tory is measured by centuries or even millenniums — 
we turn to a very different scene in passing westward 
across the ^gean sea to Greece. A petty peninsula, its 
rivers are rushing torrents on which no ship can sail, and 
its plains are deep, narrow basins between high ridges 
and peaks. Taken in its fullest extent it is less than half The Home 
as large as the state of Illinois. Still, though Greece is 
small, it has striking natural characteristics. The lack 
of rivers is made up by innumerable bays and inlets 
from the sea, so that there is no spot of land which is 
more than forty miles from it. Half-way down the 
peninsula on its western side a deep gulf — the gulf of 
Corinth — almost cuts off the southern part, the Pelopon- 
nesus, while on the south are two bays, and on the east 
five, one of which actually parts Euboea from the main- 
land. Its mountains, though pursuing a general course 
from northwest to southeast, fly off in every direction 
from the Pindus range in the north to meet the sea, cut- 
ting the land up into a variety of independent valleys 

65 



66 



Tlie Greek States 



The 

Islands. 



Relations 
to the 
World 
Without. 



and glens, and towering above them in ridges and peaks 
from five thousand to eight thousand feet in height, 
sometimes bare and stern, often thickly wooded or 
crowned with snow. Over sea, valley and mountain 
gleams a brilliant sky; the play of light and shade upon 
the varied scene is indescribably beautiful. From the 
points of bold promontories that stand out into the 
yEgean sea, islands, large and small, summits of lost 
mountain-peaks, push forth one after the other toward 
the eastward and go to meet similar islands that dot the 
shores of Asia Minor. Far to the south, Crete lies across 
the foot of the sea, sixty miles from the extremity of the 
Peloponnesus and barely twice as far from Asia Minor. 

86. Its Influence on Greek History. — Observe what 
the position of Greece and her relation to the sea meant 
for the life and history of her people. The ^F^gean, push- 
ing far upward, received the trade of the northwest 
while it also opened into the Black sea, down to the 
northern and eastern shores of which came the roads 
from the far northeast. The bays on the eastern side 
of Greece, coupled with the innumerable islands that 
stretched across the sea, made access easy for men com- 
ing from the east, the early home of civilization. Thus 
Greece lay at the very spot where the ways of progress 
met, from north and east and south, and extended wel- 
coming hands to the bearers of the world's best gifts. 
Yet the land was also protected. No hostile force could 
easily come down through the high mountains of the 
north. Should ships bring enemies, the coasts alone 
could be seized; the interior remained easily defensible. 
Moreover, intercourse, by land in Greece, difficult on 
account of the mountains, was made easy by inlets fror 



The Geography of Greece 67 

the sea. Hence the Greeks, like the Phoenicians of the 
eastern Mediterranean (§ 50), were early thrust forth on 
the water, and learned how to defend their shores as 
well as to engage in commerce with outside peoples. 
Thus Greece was at the same time an accessible and a 
defensible land. 

87. On the Politics of Greece. — The mountains had 
another important influence on Greek history. The 
narrow secluded valleys, into which they broke up the 
land, became seats of petty communities, each inde- 
pendent of the other, each zealous to maintain its own 
independence and each protected in its separateness by 

the mountain barriers which girt it about. Hence, for a Disunion 
long period, the history of Greece is a history of a variety °^ Greeks, 
of small states; unity of political life was the last thing 
secured and, when secured, was with difficulty main- 
tained. On the other hand, this separateness in Greek 
political life had its advantages. A wonderful variety 
in forms of society and politics was produced, each state 
working out its own local problems with substantial 
freedom from interference and with the incitement of 
healthy rivalry with its neighbors. 

88. On the Greek Character. — In such physical con- 
ditions and relations a peculiar type of man was pro- 
duced that the world had not seen before. In these little 
communities the single man counted for much. The 
individual was not lost in the crowd; hence individuality 
was an early trait of the Greek character. Devotion to 
his own state and pride in its independence gave him 
patriotism and a love of freedom. The beauty and 
variety of the natural world all about bred in him sensi- 
tiveness to form and color, while its steep, narrow and 



68 The Greek States 

rugged ways made him healthy, strong and supple. 
All his circumstances called for quickness of body and 
mind, stimulated him to thought and action, and brought 
out a variety of resource and achievement that has been 
the admiration and the inspiration of mankind. Thus 
it has been well said that " the Greeks owed their great- 
ness largely to the country in which it was their fortune 
to dwell." 
Greek 89. The Greek People. — The Greeks belonged by 

Traits 

language to the Indo-European family (§ 5). If we may 
judge from the ancient statues and from the prevailing 
Greek type of to-day, they were tall and spare in build, 
with oval face, long straight nose, bright large eyes, fair 
complexion, of graceful and elastic carriage and a gen- 
eral harmony of form, free from signal excess or defect 
of any one characteristic. They were, in disposition, 
genial and sunny, imaginative and inquiring, temperate 
and chaste, vibrating between reasonableness and emo- 
tion, with an ambition which was not always nice about 
the means to gain its end, and a vivacity which leaned 
toward fickleness. 

89a. Main Divisions of Greek History. — We have the 
following main divisions of this portion of our history: 

1. The ^gean World and the Beginnings of Greece: 

2500-1000 B.C. 

2. The Middle (Homeric) Age: 1000-550 B.C. 

3. The Development of Constitutional States: 700- 

500 B.C. 

4. Sparta and Athens. 

5. The Greek Empires — Athenian, Spartan, Theban 

and Macedonian: 500-336 B.C. 



Epochs of Greek History 69 

6. Alexander the Great and the World-Empire: ZZ^')- 

323 B.C. 

7. The Hellenistic Age: 323-200 B.C. 

8. The Western Greeks — The Transition to Rome: 

350-275 B.C. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GREEK HISTORY* 

Abbott. A Skeleton Outline of Greek History. Macmillan Co. Useful 
primarily for chronology. 

Baikie. Sea-Kings of Crete. A. & C. Black. Interesting. 

BOTSFORD. A History of Greece. Macmillan Co. A well-proportioned 
narrative in moderate compass. Rather radical at times. 

Burrows. The Discoveries in Crete. John Murray. An admirable 
survey of the Cretan civilization. 

Bury. History of Greece. Macmillan Co. The best single volume, 
combining a detailed treatment with accurate and up-to-date knowl- 
edge. Possibly too full for elementary use. 

Capps. From Homer to Theocritus. Scribners. The most useful single 
book; contains abundant extracts. 

Ferguson, Hellenistic Athens. Macmillan Co. Begins where Bury ends. 

Fowler. The City-Stale of the Greeks and Romans. Macmillan Co. 
Belongs to the field of political science rather than of history. In- 
terprets as no other book of its size the meaning of ancient political 
institutions. 

Fowler and Wheeler. Greek Archceology. American Book Co. A 
simple, abundantly illustrated treatment of architecture, sculpture, 
terra cottas, metal work, coins, gems, vases and mosaics, 

Greenidge. a Handbook of Greek Constitutional History. Macmillan 
Co. The only book of moderate size covering the whole field. 

Jebb. Greek Literature (History Primer Series). American Book Co. 
'Brief, but judicious, compact and illuminating. 

Mahaffy. Old Greek Life. American Book Co. A convenient primer 
of antiquities. 

MoREY. Outlines of Greek History. American Book Co. A little 
fragmentary, dealing in detail with the growth of civilization rather 
than with outward history. 

* For previous bibliographies, see § 5a. For bibliography for advanced 
students and teachers, see Appendix I. 



70 The jEgean World 

Murray. Ancient Greek Literature. Appleton. Keen, brilliant, fasci- 
nating, but takes for granted a general knowledge of Greek life and 
history. 

Plutarch. Translation by Dryden, edited by Clough. 5 vols. Little, 
Brown and Co.; or by Stewart and Long. 4 vols. Bohn. 

Shxtckburgh. History of the Greeks. Macmillan Co. Conventional 
in arrangement but clearly and concisely written. 

Tarbell. a History of Greek Art. Chautauqua Press. The best 
single book on the subject. 

Tucker. Life in Ancient Athens. Macmillan. "An excellent and 
simply written little book." 

ZiMMERN. Greek History. Longmans. Emphasizes the picturesque 
sides of Greek History; written in a simple style for elementary 
students. 



1.— THE ^GEAN WORLD AND THE 
BEGINNINGS OF GREECE 

2500-1000 B.C. 

90. The Neolithic Age. — The region of the ^gean 
sea was the home of the earhest civihzation which has 
left behind it material objects in the land of the Greeks. 
This was a stone civilization (neolithic), and by the aid 
of the many islands which make the ^Egean seem to the 
navigator a series of land-locked channels and little 
lakes, it became fairly uniform in all the region from 
Troy to Crete. Indeed, it is probable that in the long 
ago, between 5000 and 2500 B.C., the stone utensils and 
weapons — the knives, spear and arrow heads, the needles 
and other instruments used in the ^^gean were not dis- 
similar to those which in general characterize the neo- 
lithic age of Europe. Their most distinctive feature is 
the use of the hard, black stone called obsidian, which is 
found on the island of Melos. 



Crete 71 

91. Egypt and Crete. — To this world, probably for a 
long lime stagnant, came a strong impulse forward from 
Egypt, with which, at the time of the Old Kingdom, it 
came into contact. The entrance from the east and 
south into the ^Egean sea is blocked by the great, long- 
ranging island of Crete, which is thus determined by 
geographical position as the first of the lands of Europe 
to receive the culture of the East. Crete was accord- 
ingly the forerunner of Greece, and the Cretans, called 
by the Egyptians the Keftiu, were for about a thousand 
years (2500-1500 B.C.) the rivals of the Egyptians and 
Babylonians in the arts and sciences and, indeed, in 
some respects, their masters. 

92. Crete and the Greeks. — The Cretans were ap- 
parently not Greeks, but may have been kinsmen of the 
early inhabitants of Asia Minor. They wrote their 
language by the means of pictographs like those of 
Egypt, and of linear characters like those of the Phoeni- 
cians. We are as yet unable to read either system, but Systems of 
it seems quite probable that what they conceal is a non- 
Greek speech like that of the Et'eo-cre'tans, who in later 
times dwelt on part of the island. The Greeks may have The First 
advanced from the region of the lower Danube into the 
peninsula of Greece as early as 2500-2000 B.C., but it was 
not till about 1500 B.C. that, after a long period of rude 
barbarism, they assimilated the high culture radiating 
from Crete; and it was not till the Cretan age had come 
to an end that they spread over the insular world and 
eventually occupied the western coast line of Asia Minor. 
In fact, the decay of Crete and the destruction by fire of 
its palaces and towns at about 1350 B.C. may be connected 
with the stormy advent of the Greeks in what from that 



Writing. 



Greek Mi- 
gration. 



72 



The j^gean World 



The 

Mycenaean 
Age. 



Middle 
Minoan II. 



Late 
Minoan II. 



Frescoes. 



Porcelain. 



day to this has been their natural home. The high civi- 
Lzation common to the entire ^gean world between 1500 
and 1 150 B.C. we term My'ce-nse'an from Mycenae in 
Argolis, where was its most vigorous centre. 

93. Cretan Culture. — The Cretan age may be divided 
into three periods, called Mi-no'an, which correspond 
closely in time with the Old, Middle and New King- 
doms in Egypt. Of these the second (ca. 2200-1600 
B.C.) reached its acme in what we may term the Ka-ma'- 
res epoch (ca. 2200 B.C.) from the style of vase painting 
which characterizes it, while the bloom-time of the third, 
commonly called the Palace epoch, coincides with the 
eighteenth Egyptian dynasty (1580-1350 B.C.). 

94. Cretan and Mycenaean Pottery. — The Kamares 
epoch is distinguished from the ages which it followed 
and preceded by the production of a shapely, thin, wheel- 
turned pottery with an exclusively linear decoration, and 
use of many colors — such as reds and whites. The 
fondness of the period for grotesque and striking, though 
rich, effects was but a temporary fashion, however, and 
it soon yielded to the taste for the sober black through 
brown to yellow color scheme which characterizes the 
pottery of the Mycenaean age. This later ware went 
directly to nature for its designs, and displaced spirals, 
circles, scrolls and arabesques with wonderful sketches 
of animal and vegetable, and especially marine life. 
Along with painting, the art of frescoing prospered, and 
with it the art of working and coloring low relief on 
pottery, stone and metal. A fine porcelain made its ap- 
pearance, the several pieces — such as crosses, cows and 
goats suckling their young, flying fishes — being used for 
the ornamentation of the interior walls of the houses. 




i;KJSis2SJij£l^ 




Crete 73 

95. The Palace at Cnossus. — All these various arts 
combined with that of the architect to give shape and 
beauty to the great palace at Cnossus, which, constructed 
first at ca. 2200 B.C., was rebuilt in ca. 1900 B.C., and 
thoroughly remodelled at about 1800 B.C. in the form 
in which it stood when wiped out by the final conflagra- 
tion. Like all the Cretan palaces it was unfortified. It 
formed a great complex of rooms, corridors and closets 
set about a vast central court, and rambled in all direc- 
tions over an area of five acres. Possessing, as it did, 
all the conveniences of modern sanitation, it was obvi- 
ously a comfortable place to live in. Light and airy, it Labyrinth 
had the same general characteristics as the "Labyrinth" and Crete, 
of the twelfth dynasty, in imitation of which it was 
doubtless erected. In beauty of interior decoration, as 

well as in size, it probably surpassed all residences built 
afterward in Greece before the Hellenistic Age. After 
the conflagration the basement and part of the first 
story stood half ruined and covered with debris, a maze 
of passages and chambers — the Labyrinth of the legend 
of Minos (§ 122). 

96. The Lords and Ladies of Cnossus. — We have to 
conceive of it in the Palace period as the home of a gay 
and rich court. Then it was tenanted by low-statured 
slender men with Caucasian features, clad only in a 
loin-cloth richly decorated but carrying a dagger with 
inlaid blade in a belt close drawn round the waist. Then Cretan 
it was adorned by a company of ladies dressed in strangely 
modern, low-necked, short-sleeved, close-fitting bodices 
with flounced skirts, long flowing and richly embroidered. 

Its lord was a monarch whose fleets ruled the sea and 
whose merchant-men went in safety whither they pleased. 



74 The ^gean World 

97. The Mycenaean World. — Already in the Palace 
epoch the culture of Crete had been carried north and 
west into Greece; so that the Mycengean world reached 
from Py'los and A-my'clge north past Tir'yns, Mycenae, 
Attica and Orch-om'en-us to the gulf of Pag'a-sas, and 
in its later days included the islands on the west coast of 
Greece and not only Troy, but also the Cyclades and the 
entire western fringe of Asia Minor; while its pottery 
and other wares not only reached Egypt, like those of 
the Cretans, but were also carried as far west as Sicily 
and Spain. The most important outside contact of this 
world was with Egypt of the New Empire, of which 
many monuments have been found at its various cen- 
tres. Ultimately, moreover, it developed an active com- 
mercial and colonizing activity in Cyprus and Asia Minor, 
thus tapping in both its Syrian and Anatolian channels 
the stream of culture which had its source in Babylonia. 

98. Fortifications and Communications. — Its civili- 
zation is in general that of Crete of the Palace epoch. 
It had the same dress, weapons and habits of life, but, 
since power was divided between a great many little mon- 
archies, each town had to be strongly fortified. Hence 
the massive walls twenty to sixty feet thick — with cun- 
ningly contrived portals — set around low hills which for 
greater safety were selected a short distance from the 
sea, have no parallel in Crete. Within these rugged for- 
tifications stood the palace of the ruler and the houses 
of his courtiers; outside lay the huts of his subjects. 
The whole community centred in the autocrat, who, on 
occasion, might be the lord of a wide realm. Thus at 
one time the despots of Mycense bound all the territory 
froin their capital to the isthmus of Corinth by a system 



PLATE XIII 




THE LION GATE: MYCEN^ 




BEE HIVE TOMB: TREASURY OF ATREUS 




O 

•z 

> 

X 
H 

b 
O 



The Mycencean World 75 

of massive and durable roads. Their use was economic 
rather than mih'tary, since they seem to have been too 
narrow for the chariots on which the king and his sol- 
diers drove to battle. The land was, accordingly, the 
scene of a lively trafhc; on the sea boats shot like shut- 
tles between the islands. Far beyond the confines of Articles of 
the i^gean sea sped the articles of Mycenaean commerce. °'""^"<^^- 
The graves disclose what these were; for in them have 
been found masks of gold, cups of gold and silver, arm- 
lets, bracelets, beads, chains, diadems, ear-rings, neck- 
laces, rings, and vases — all of gold. There were bronze 
swords with inlaid work. There were glazed and painted 
pottery of various and striking patterns, decorated with 
scenes from land and sea. There were vases of alabaster, 
of marble and of terra-cotta. Into the iEgean tract came, 
on the other hand, the products of far-distant countries, 
tin, jade, amber, for examples. Like every high culture 
the Mycenaean had a strong power of attraction for com- 
modities and men, and we may be sure that the faces of 
many strange peoples were familiar in the country at this 
time. 

99. The Beehive Tombs. — In the earlier age it was Respect foi 
doubtless a general custom to pay respect to the dead, ^^^ ^^^^' 
but it was not till now that provision for the after-life 
of the kings became one of the chief public interests of 
the living. Monarchs now strove to secure great tombs, 
beehive in shape, comparable, though far from equal, to 
the pyramids of Egypt, to which a similar regard for the 
welfare of the departed gave rise. The spirits of the 
dead were thought to need a habitation near the body 
and to receive from the living the arms, weapons, utensils, 
food and drink without which living was unthinkable. 



76 



The Begin7iings of Greece 



Sacred 
Trees and 
Pillars. 



Cretan and 
Mycenaean 
Deities. 



Causes. 



100. Religion. — Quite different from this cult of the 
dead was the worship of the gods, as to the character of 
which many relics testify. Primitive man regards nat- 
ure not merely as a complex of things and processes, but 
as the abode of spirits (§ 112). These he tries to con- 
trol by magic. He also tries to placate and propitiate 
them, and thus singles out specific deities whose char- 
acteristics — desires and dislikes — he comes to know. 
Such deities the Cretans and Mycenaeans worshipped, 
not as idols of human form, but as sacred trees and 
pillars, in which they thought their deities were perma- 
nently or temporarily resident; and long after they came 
to think of these deities as human in shape they continued 
to revere the stocks and stones which were from of old 
set behind the altars and in the precincts or caves where 
offerings were placed. The most notable of the Cretan 
and Mycenaean deities were a male god of the Sky, 
Thunder and War, the prototype of the Greek Zeus, 
whose attribute was the double axe with which he slew 
his enemies; and a female goddess whose attribute was 
the dove, whose province was the mystery of birth, and 
whose popularity is witnessed by myriads of little clay, 
stone and metal images which were placed in her shrines 
by her votaries. 

1 01. The Decline of the Mycensean World. — About 
1 1 50 B.C. this rich Mycenaean civilization declined rapidly. 
The blight which simultaneously ended a culture epoch 
in Egypt and Babylon (§§ 17, 39) affected the iEgean 
district also. The cause was no doubt in each instance 
internal decay; but this was accompanied, as in the 
similar case of the Roman empire over fifteen hundred 
years later, by external invasions. 



The "Dorian" Migration 77 

102. The Second Greek (Dorian) Migration. — It was 

about this time that the so-called northwest Greeks, who 
had been left behind in the mountains when their kinsmen 
possessed the areas of Mycenaean culture, and who re- 
tained the barbarism which their more fortunate van- 
guard had lost through contact with Crete, now ad- 
vanced to the south and east. Subsequently Thessalians 
appear in Thessaly, Boeotians in Boeotia, Elians and 
Dorians in the Peloponnesus and Dorians in all the 
large islands of the south iEgean — Crete inclusive — as 
well as in the southwestern part of Asia Minor. At Italians, 
the same time, it may well be, the Italians pushed into 
the peninsula to which they gave their name, and the 
Phrygians branched off from their kinsmen in Thrace Phrygians, 
and advanced violently into the heart of Asia Minor. 

103. The Decline of the Ancient Eastern Culture. — The End of 
It was this avalanche pressing on from behind which culture 
dislodged Etruscans, Shardani, Danaei, Lycii, Peleset ^'^°'^^' 
and other peoples from their ^gean homes and forced 

them to seek new abodes for themselves and their fam- 
ilies and possessions in Syria, Egypt and the far west 
(§§ 39' 54> 344)- It was this avalanche which over- 
whelmed the Mycenaean world, and forced fugitives from 
the east coast of Greece to scurry across the ^gean, 
thus reinforcing their kinsmen who had earlier settled in 
central and northern Asia Minor. There — in ^Eolia and 
Ionia — Mycenaean Greek life lingered on through the 
dark age which followed to reach a new bloom in the 
time of Homer. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What part do the following play in 
the physical geography of Greece : theiEgean, the Pindus, the 
gulf of Corinth? 2. For what are the following places noted 5 



78 The jEgean World 

Mycenae, Troy, Cnossus? 3. Locate from memory on an out- 
line map the chief points at which remains of Mycenaean 
civilization have been found. 4. At about what time was the 
Mycenaean civilization at its height? 5. At about what time 
did the Dorian invasion occur? 6. Describe the conditions 
in the ^gean world at the time of the advent of the Greeks. 
7. What was the position of Crete in this world? 8. Charac- 
terize the Cretan pottery. 9. Describe the palace at Cnossus 
and the people who occupied it. 10. Compare Cretan and 
Mycenaean architecture. 11. What were the characteristics 
of the Cretan religion? 12. Describe the Dorian invasion and 
its effect upon the distribution of Mycenaean civilization. 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. What was going on in the ori- 
ental world during the bloom-time of Crete? 2. Compare 
the articles of commerce of the Mycenaean Greeks with those 
of the Phoenicians (§ 50). 3. Compare the effect of the Do- 
rian invasion of Greece with that of the Hyksos invasion of 
Egypt (§§ 35-36). 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Geography of Greece. 
Bury, pp. 1-5. 2. The Mycenaean Age: (a) Its Remains, Bury, 
pp. 11-30. {h) Its History in Greece, Bury, pp. 31-43. (c) Its 
Expansion, Bury, pp. 43-53. 3. Phoenician Influence on Greece, 
Bury, pp. 76-78. 4. Early Cretan Civilization, Bury, pp. 7-1 1. 
5. The Dorian Invasion and Its Effect upon Greek Migration. 
Bury, pp. 57-63. 6. The Effect of the lUyrian Pressure upon 
Thessalians, ^Etolians and Boeotians, Bury, pp. 53-57. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Story 
of Theseus. Plutarch, Life of Theseus. 2. The Hill of Hagia 
Triada: Its Treasons. Burrows, pp. 29-39. 3« The Geog- 
raphy of Greece. MKk^y. PP- 72-77. 4. The Mycenaean Age: 
(a) Its Remains, ^I^VH^> PP- 86-91. (6) Its History in Greece, 
Moray, pp. 91-94. X^; Its 'Expansion, Botsford, pp. 8-10. 5. 
The Earliest History of Greece. Bury, pp. 6-1 1. 6. Myths 
and Legends of the Heroic Age. Morey, pp. 83-86. 7. The 
Epic Poets. Botsford, pp. lo-ii; Morey, pp. 94-96; Capps, pp. 
14-20. 8. Palaces and Their Contents in the Middle Minoan 
Period. Burrows, pp. 55-65, 85-92. 



I 



Social and Political Elements 79 



3.— THE MIDDLE (HOMERIC) AGE 

1000-550 B.C. 

104. The New Beginning. — In the new Greece that 
came into being when the turmoil of the migrations had 
subsided civilization must in a sense begin all over again. 
The incomers were numerous; the old civilization was 
too weak to absorb and win its peaceful victory over 
them, as was the case in so many similar situations in 

the ancient east (§§ 16, 36). They came with their occupa- 
flocks and herds and for a time continued the old pas- *'°°^' 
toral life. Apart from the raising and pasturing of their 
cattle, hunting and fighting were their favorite activities. 
But as they settled down, agriculture was taken up; 
fields were sown; vineyards planted; the fig and the 
olive cultivated. In time industries came in. At first, 
everything needed was made at home, but gradually the 
various trades appeared, the blacksmith, the potter, the 
carpenter, the leatherworker, ,the bowmaker and the 
spinner. For a long time any kind of industry was looked 
upon as unworthy of freemen. Even heralds, physi- 
cians, seers, singers, poets and jugglers were together 
counted as workmen and, thougty«espected, had no so- 
cial standing. First the warrior,^nd then the farmer, 
were the gentlemen of Greece. 

105. Social and Political Elements. — The new-comers 
brought the tribal system with them into the Pelo- 
ponnesus. In the tribe the chief subdivision is the The Broth- 
brotherhood (phra'try) the members of which are bound 
together by a tie of blood-relationship. Each is the 

equal of his brother. He eats at the common table. 



80 The Middle Age of Greece 

He must be ever ready in arms at the call of the tribe to 
battle. If slain by an enemy, it rests upon his fellow- 
brothers to avenge him by killing any and all of the 
hostile tribe or brotherhood whose member took his 
life.* At the head of the tribe is the king, the chief 
among equals, surrounded by his council, the elders, 
men of valor over sixty years old. He leads the tribe 
in war; he is the judge and the priest in peace. The 
tribesmen, gathered in close array, armed for war, con- 
stitute the public assembly for the settlement of tribal 
affairs. 

1 06. Rise of Aristocracy. — When these wandering 
tribes settled down in the narrow valleys of Greece, 
tribal unity was broken up. Each petty community 
began to live for itself. The land was definitely occupied 
and each family to which a "lot" was assigned came to 
own it and, where possible, added more. Some fami- 1 
lies grew great and strong and began to claim superior- 
ity thereby. Other families grew poor and became de- 
pendent upon their richer neighbors. The strong be- 
came proud and called themselves Ar'is-toi, "the best" 
people. Thus an "aristocracy" grew up with its depend- 
ents. The noble head of an aristocratic family led his 
people in war and protected them in peace. He lived 
on his estates in rude luxury, surrounded by his family 
and dependents. An aggregation such as this consisting 
of a noble or a group of nobles and their dependents 
who were at once their serfs and their retainers we 
call a clan (ge'nos). The members thought they were 
sprung from a god or demi-god peculiar to themselves 
and to him as the progenitor of their race they attached 
* This is called the law of blood-revenge. 



I 



The City-State 81 

themselves by a pedigree, and in his honor they per- 
formed special religious rites in which none but mem- 
bers could participate. The king soon began to find that 
these great noble families were too strong for him; in 
time he lost his powers, one after the other, keeping at 
last only his religious functions. The aristocracy stepped 
into his place and ruled the state by a council of chiefs, 
administering justice and making war. In this new sit- 
uation the old tribal equality faded away. The public 
assembly, though still existent, had no power in the new 
aristocratic state. The nobles were the state. 

107. The City-State. — The usual and characteristic 
form taken by these states was the city, just as in the 
primitive east (§ 11). The Greek city came into exist- its origia 
ence by a union of the petty villages of a district. The 
inhabitants for the most part migrated to a common 
spot and there took up their residence. The political 
powers of the several communities were given to the new 
state. There the officials lived and administered justice; 
there the public assembly met; there the citizen exer- 
cised his rights. There was the centre of political life. 
There was set up the worship of the common gods. It 
thus resulted that everywhere throughout progressive 
Greece the agricultural population was made urban in 
its character. The ordinary city was in fact essentially 
an aggregate of farmers who tilled the land in its vicinity. 
In this way the social and political advantages of city life its unique- 
were brought within the reach of everybody.* Thus a °^^"* 

* The case of Athens is not typical; for Athens is peculiar in that be- 
cause of the size of its territory (Attica) it absorbed the village population 
less completely than any other city-state in Greece. Hence in Attica 
many villages inhabited by citizens — such as Acharnae and Sunium — 
continued to exist. 



82 The Middle Age of Greece 

fundamental difference appears between the eastern and 
the Greek city-state. In the former all power was lodged 
in a king, and his people were subject to him and depend- 
Freedom cnt upon him for all things (§21). But in the Greek 
i^ns^ ^''" city-state there was always a measure of popular free- 
dom; to be a citizen was to have some political rights and 
duties. The king was never a despot, nor did the rule of 
the aristocracy destroy the old rights of the freeman, 
although it often limited his exercise of them. But they 
were always capable of being revived and enlarged should 
the proper occasion offer itself. The Greek city was also 
economically independent. The citizens produced their 
own wealth and employed it for the city's interest, not 
for those of a king and his court. 

Thucydides, the Athenian historian, gives the following account 
of the origin of the city-state of Athens: 

"In the days of Ce'crops and the first kings, down to the reign of 
The'seus, Athens was divided into communes, having their own 
town-halls and magistrates. Except in case of alarm the whole peo- 
ple did not assemble in council under the king, but administered 
their own affairs, and advised together in their several townships. 
Some of them at times even went to war with him, as the Eleusin- 
Theseus. ians under Eu-moKpus with E-rech'theus. But when Theseus came 
to the throne, he, being a powerful as well as a wise ruler, among 
other improvements in the administration of the country, dissolved 
the councils and separate governments, and united all the inhabi- 
tants of Attica in the present city, establishing one council and town- 
hall. They continued to live on their own lands, but he compelled 
them to resort to Athens as their metropolis, and henceforward they 
were all inscribed on the roll of her citizens. A great city thus arose 
which was handed down by Theseus to his descendants, and from 
his day to this the Athenians have regularly celebrated the national 
festival of the Syn-oi'ki-a, or union of the communes, in honor of the 
goddess Athena." 






The " Iliad " and " Odyssey " 83 

108. A New Impulse: Commerce. — The history of the 
Greek world is henceforth and chiefly the history of 
these city-states in their growth and relations to one 
another. The first to become prominent were those The Hast- 
en the Asiatic side of the .Egean sea. They had been 

the least disturbed by the migrations; indeed, by the 
advent of those who fled out of Greece from before the 
new-comers they had been distinctly benefited. An 
activity, new for this age, began to be cultivated among 
them — commerce. It made them vigorous, enterprising 
and wealthy. Miletus was the leader, followed by its 
rivals, Ephesus, Colophon, Magnesia, Samos, Chios and 
Myt-i-le'ne. Soon the impulse spread to the western 
side of the sea and commercial cities appeared there — 
Chalcis and E-re'tri-a upon the island of Euboea, as 
well as Meg'a-ra, Corinth and ^-gi'na. A lively trade, 
especially in natural products, sprang up between these 
cities and gave a stimulus to manufacturing, and occa- 
sionally some manufactured article was exported. Thus 
Miletus was famous for its woollen garments, Euboea for 
its purple cloths, Chalcis and Corinth for pottery, other 
cities for metal-work and chariots. 

109. Beginnings of Literature. — But for all this com- 
merce was still in its infancy. Both in the most pro- 
gressive cities which took part in maritime enterprises 
and in the great number of smaller states which did not 
the dominant interest remained agricultural, and it was 
a nobility of country gentlemen which everywhere formed 
the highest social class. The nobles and the wealthy 
sought entertainment for their leisure and found it in 
music and song. In these cities appeared a class of The 
singers who, accompanying their song with the lyre, 



84 The Homeric Age 

produced the first literature of Greece. Tliey sang of 
gods and heroes, of battles, sieges and adventures by 
land and sea, of the loves and hates, the sins and virtues 
of men and gods, of the worlds above and below this 
earth and of all the splendid life of the mighty of old. 
They laid under contribution all of religion and history 
that had come down to them from the dim past. 

Such was the singer described in the "Odyssey," viii, 62: "Then 
the henchman drew near, leading with him the beloved minstrel, whom 
the Muse loved dearly, and she gave him both good and evil; of his 
sight she reft him, but granted him sweet song. Then Pon-ton'ous, 
the henchman, set for him a high chair inlaid with silver, in the midst 
of the guests, leaning it against the tall pillar, and he hung the loud 
lyre on a pin, close above his head, and showed him how to lay his 
hands on it. The Muse stirred the minstrel to sing the songs of 
famous men, even that lay whereof the fame had then reached the 
wide heaven, namely, the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles, 
son of Peleus; how once on a time they contended in fierce words at 
a rich festival of the gods, but Agamemnon, king of men, was inly 
glad when the noblest of the Achasans fell at variance. This song it 
was that the famous minstrel sang." 

110. The Epics. — In time these songs came to be 
woven together into a series of greater poems, in hexam- 
eter verse, dealing with particular events, like the story 
of the ship "Argo" and its crew of bold heroes led by 
Jason (§ 127), or that of the "Seven against Thebes" 
(§ 123), or that of the "Siege of Troy" and the "Wan- 
Homer, derings of Odysseus." These are called epics, and the 
most famous of them are said to have been the work of 
Homer and are known to us as the "Iliad" and the 
"Odyssey." For centuries these cycles of song passed 
down from singer to singer unwritten, until finally, when 



of Achilles. 



The Greek Religion 85 

the age of the singers was passing, they were written 
down. 

111. Life of the Times. — From these epics comes a The shield 
vivid picture of the Hfe of the times, nowhere more strik- 
ingly exhibited than in the description of the scenes on 
the shield of Achilles in the eighteenth book of the " Ihad " 
(lines 483-606). There appears city-life, the marriages 
and the leading of the brides through the city with songs, 
the public assembly where the judges give Justice between 
the slayer and the slain, the siege and battle, fell Death 
in the midst, her raiment red with the blood of men, 
the field ploughed with oxen, the sweet wine given to the 
laborer, the binding of the sheaves at harvest, the vine- 
yard with its black and luscious grapes and the gatherers 
listening to the "Linos" song, the cattle in the pasture 
attacked by lions, the sheep and the sheepfolds, the dance, 
the maidens clad in fine linen with wreaths on their 
heads, and the youth in well- woven doublets with golden 
daggers in silver sheaths, the great company standing 
round the lovely dance in joy.* 

112. Religion. — As we have already seen (§ 100), the 
Mycenaean Greek, like the oriental (§ 34), thought of 
the world as peopled by divine powers that influenced 
human life. Every spring, every forest, every height, 
the wind and the storm, the lights flaming in the sky, 
the deep and rolling sea and the bright heaven revealed 

* Other passages in which graphic pictures of life in Homeric times 
are set forth are the following: "Iliad," ii, 211 ff. (Thersites — the first 
demagogue); iii, 120 (Helen describes Greek leaders to Priam); vi. 
369 ff. (Parting of Hector and Andromache): "Odyssey," xv, 403 ff. 
(Phoenician traders); vii, 81 _^. (Palace and estate of a king); xiv, 191 
ff. (Career of an adventurer) ; vi, iff. (Story of Nausicaa) ; xi, iff. (Ulysses 
in the lower world). ' 



86 



The Homeric Age 



Element. 



The 

Olympian 

Gods. 



the presence and activity of the gods. But in the age 
of the Epics he was not satisfied until he had formed 
Its Human clcar-cut and vivid ideas of these powers. Above all, he 
thought of them as looking and acting like himself, only 
on a grander scale. The best that he could desire him- 
self to be, that he imagined the gods were. When the 
singers sang of the gods, they pictured them as glorified 
and beautiful beings. Thereby they gave to Greek re- 
ligion its most characteristic stamp; they made it a re- 
ligion of supreme human beauty. Another thing they 
did. They organized this vast and confused variety of 
gods. They sang of the family of the great gods, twelve 
or more in number, dwelling in the far north on Mt. 
Olympus, from whose snow-crowned summit they di- 
rected the universe. Zeus, the mighty father, was the 
ruler of gods and men. His wife was He'ra; his brothers, 
Po-sei'don, whose domain was the sea, and Pluto, lord of 
the underworld and the dead; his children, A-pol'lo, god 
of light, A-the'na, goddess of wisdom, Aph'ro-di'te, god- 
dess of love, A'res, god of war, Ar'te-mis, goddess of the 
forest and the hunt, Her'mes, the divine messenger, and 
He-phaes'tus, the lame god of fire and the forge; and 
other notable figures, Her'a-cles, the hero of many la- 
bors, E'ros, god of desire, De-me'ter, goddess of the 
earth and its fruits, her daughter Cora (or Per-seph'o-ne), 
wife of Pluto, and Di'o-ny'sus, god of the vine. The 
singers did not much care about the moral character of 
these divine beings. They are sometimes represented 
as quarrelling, lying or deceiving; even worse actions 
are told of some of them. What the poets saw in them 
was their human interests, with artistic sense they made 
them always beautiful and only sometimes good. Yet 



The Gods 
Non-moral 



Greek Colonization 87 

Zeus was the judge of human and divine deeds; Apollo 
punished wrong-doing and was the type of moral beauty. 
And in those days it was no small boon to turn men's 
minds away from stocks and stones, and present for 
their worship, instead of objects of nature, human-like 
forms, gloriously gracious. Thus one could approach, 
and know them as those who, even if higher, were yet 
like himself, who enjoyed what he enjoyed at its best, 
and who bade him imitate them in measure and har- 
mony of life. It is true that this region was only for the 
present life. In the dim light of existence beyond the The other 
grave, in the place which they called Ha'des, the Greeks 
saw little that was attractive. The saying of Achilles 
long remained true of their feeling: "Rather would I 
live upon the earth as the hireling of another, with a 
landless man who had no great livelihood, than bear 
sway among all the dead that be departed." 

113. Beginnings of Colonization. — The population of 
Greece kept increasing steadily after the Dorian migra- 
tion, and by 750 b.c. it exceeded the power of the little 
patches of arable land to sustain it. The over-popula- 
tion manifested itself in dissatisfaction with the harsh 
rule of the nobles and in the severity of the struggle for 

bare existence. Men needed more land and went abroad Causes of 
to seek it. It was natural for them to assemble at the sea- ^°^°°'^^" 

tion. 

ports, where alone they could get transportation to a new 
world in the north and west which adventurers and mer- 
chants were now discovering. Hence, though land hunger 
was doubtless the main motive of the emigrants, the com- 
mercial cities had a leading part in this colonizing activity. 

114. The Organization of the Colonies. — It was, of 
course, impossible for men to go independently into 



88 Dawn of a New Age 

strange and often hostile districts. Hence the colony 
needed to be founded and organized before leaving 
The CEcist. Grcecc. A founder (cecist) was accordingly chosen from 
the citizens of the port from which the colonists sailed 
and to him was given absolute power during the forma- 
tive period of the new settlement. It was usual for him 
to take with him fire from the hearth of his native city 
and to secure from the oracle of Apollo at Delphi ap- 
proval of his enterprise. 

115. The Relation to the Mother City. — There was 
no political connection between the mother city and the 
colony, but only a weak bond of piety and religion 
Each Col- bound the two together. The world of Greek religion, 
ony^a New ig^^guage and culturc was enlarged manifold by the 
founding of these new communities, but the new states, 
like the old ones, were cities, small for the most part, and 
scattered often far apart along the edge of the sea. On 
the sea ran the ways which kept them in contact with 
one another. 
The Greeks 1 1 6. The Distribution of the Colonies. — The colonists 
th^sea- ^^ t^^ eastern ^gean sailed up into the Hel'les-pont and 
coasts. onward, and made the shores of the Black sea Greek 
territory. Miletus founded Cyz'i-cus, Si-no'pe, Tra-pe'- 
zus, Olbia and a host of other colonies there. Byzan- 
tium, afterward so famous, was Megara's colony. The 
northern yEgean was settled mainly by men from Chal- 
cis, Eretria and Andros. In the east and south the 
Greeks pushed out into Cilicia and over to Cyrene. The 
Eubceans and Corinthians went westward; they founded 
cities in Sicily, the chief of which was Syracuse, a colony 
of the latter. They reached the lower coasts of eastern 
Italy, where they were followed by Achaeans who founded 



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Greece and the Orient 89 

Croton and Syb'a-ris, Locrians who founded Locri, and 
Spartans who founded Tarentum, until so completely 
was the region occupied that it was called Magna Gra^cia, 
" Greater Greece." Even on the western coast of Italy 
the enterprising Chalcidians settled the city of Cy'me, 
while on the coast of Gaul the Pho-cae'ans, the most vent- 
uresome of all early Greek navigators, founded the city 
of Massilia, and pressed still farther westward as far as 
Spain. 

117. Beginnings of New Relations to the Orient. — In 
Sicily and Spain the Greeks came into sharp compe- 
tition with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians (§ 50). 
Likewise in the eastern Mediterranean commerce and 
colonial expansion soon brought them into contact with 
the oriental world. The former lively intercourse 
(§ 97), broken off by the Dorian invasion for some 
centuries, was now revived. Particularly the native 
kingdoms of Asia Minor cultivated relations with the 
new Greek world. About 700 B.C. King Midas of 
Phrygia dedicated to Apollo of Delphi his golden throne 
and Gyges of Lydia a number of costly gold and silver Lydia. 
vessels. Under the successors of Gyges the Lydian 
kingdom may almost be said to have entered into the 
circle of Greek life (§ 75). It began to seek control over 
the Greek coast cities of Asia Minor; King Croesus was 
practically the lord of them all, and the closest com- 
mercial bonds united them. Soon Greek traders and Egypt, 
travellers began to go to Egypt, where King Amasis 
(§ 46) received them most graciously and gave them the 
city of Naucratis as their trading-post. He himself also 
gave gifts to Apollo of Delphi. All these relations came 
to be of the greatest moment to the Greeks both in stim- 



90 Dawn of a New Age 

ulating their own culture and in bringing them within 
the circle of world-politics. What this latter meant to 
them we shall see later. 



REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following places 
noted: Miletus, Chalcis, Delphi? 2. Who were Amasis, 
Croesus, Gyges? 3. What is meant by hexameter, epic, 
Magna Graecia? 4. Locate from memory on an outline map 
the chief centres of Greek colonization. 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the Egyptian idea of 
the divine world (§ 34) with that of the Greeks. 2. In what 
respects does the religion of the Greeks differ from that of the 
Hebrews (§§ 55) ? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Story of the Argonauts. 

Bury, pp. 223-231. 2. The Migrations. Bury, pp. 53-64. 3, 
The Homeric Question. Bury, pp. 65-69. 4. The Rise of the 
Greek City Republics. Bury, pp. 73-75. 5. Greek Stories of 
Early Greek History. Bury, pp. 79-84. 6. Life and Institu- 
tions of the Middle Age. Bury, pp. 69-75. 7- Greek Colo- 
nization, Causes, Character and Reaction upon the Mother- 
Coimtry. Bury, pp. 86-89, 108-110. 8. The Greek Colony of 
Cyme. Bury, pp. 94-95. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Labyrinth 
and the Minotaur. Burrows, pp. 107-110, 1 21-132. 2. The 
Homeric Question. Morey, pp. 94-97; Capps, pp. 20-22, 114- 
118. 3. Origin and Early History of the City-State. Morey, 
pp. 108-109; Botsford, pp. 20-21; Fowler, pp. 5-64. 4. The 
Life and Institutions of the Middle Age. Botsford, pp. 11-17; 
Morey, pp. 98-11 1; Fowler, pp. 64-112. 5. Greek Colonization. 
Botsford, pp. 30-40. 6. Legends of Prehistoric Crete. Baikie, 
Sea-Kings of Crete, pp. 5-16. 7. Life under the Sea-Kings. 
Baikie, pp. 211-231. 8. Footgear in the Time of Minos. Mos- 
so, The Palaces of Crete and Their Builders, pp. 324-342. 9. 
The Excavations on Crete. Mosso, pp. 17-44. 



The Seiise of Greek Unity 91 

3.--THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITU- 
TIOxNAL STATES 

700-500 B.C. 

Ii8. The Age of Change. — Thus through commerce, 
colonization and contact with the larger life of the old 
world the Greeks were on the threshold of a new and 
stirring activity. We have seen in part how these stim- 
ulating experiences were changing their life at home. 
Now we turn to trace them more in detail. These 
changes are seen {a) in the new sense of the oneness of 
the Greek world, (6) in the growth of Greek civilization 
(§§ 129-134), (c) in the political upheaval that brought 
the common people to the front (§§ 135-140). 

119. (a) The Sense of Greek Unity. — The physical 
character of Greece made the union of its states into one 
political body a difificult thing. But during these centu- 
ries of quiet organization there had been growing up 
a common type of life and a body of ideals and ways 
of looking at things which went far toward taking the 
place of a political unity. Now, when the Greek cities 
extended their horizon and came into contact with peo- 
ples outside, they woke up to realize their oneness, their 
difference in all these respects from the others. They 
began to feel the value of what they had gained and to 
develop and improve it. Thus, what we may call their 
consciousness of themselves appeared. It comes out in 
various ways. A school of thinkers flourished, who set seen in 
about organizing the stories of the past into definite and L''^''^'"''^- 
intelligible shape. The most remarkable man among Hesiod. 
them was He'si-od (about 700 B.C.). His two chief 



m Greek Myths 

works are the The-og'o-ny, in which he traces the his- 
tory of Greek gods from the beginning, and the Works 
and Days, in which he arranges the successive ages of 
gods and men, preaches the gospel of salvation by work 
and tells men how to get on in the world. The stories 
of the past, as formulated by illiterate and learned men 
of these and later times, constitute the wonderful Greek 
mythology. The following are a few of its many tales: 

120. The Greek Races. — The early Greeks firmly believed that 
at first truth and right prevailed in the world, then gradually vi^icked- 
ness of every sort came into being. Finally the whole world became 
so contaminated with iniquity that the gods in punishment swept 
the earth with a mighty deluge. The lofty summit of Mt. Par- 
nassus alone overtopped the waves. Hither floated the ark contain- 
ing the only two faithful followers of the gods, Deucalion and his 
wife, Pyrrha. Their offspring were two sons, Hellen and Am- 
phictyon. From this common ancestor, Hellen, who gave his name 
to the Hellenic or Greek race, the Greeks usually traced their ori- 
gin. Hellen's sons, /51'o-lus and Dorus, and his grandsons. Ion and 
Achseus, became the ancestors of four great Greek races, the iEolians, 
the Dorians, the lonians and the Achaeans. The Cohans occupied 
the northern parts of eastern Greece and of western Asia Minor. 
The Dorians coming from the highlands of central Greece pushed 
southward, and overran the greater portion of southern Greece. 
They drove out the descendants of Achaeus, or the Achaeans, who 
fell back into the district afterward known as Achaea. The Dori- 
ans found their way, too, to Asia Minor. The lonians settled cen- 
tral Greece and the corresponding strip east of the ^gean sea. 
Amphictyon first caused men to come together in fraternal groups 
for trade and social intercourse, and in this way the Greeks explained 
the origin of the name of their early leagues, or amphictyonies 
(§128). Some of the Greeks, indeed, believed that they were 
sprung from the soil itself, or autochthonous, thinking of their 
ancestor, whom they reverently worshipped, as a child of some 
god and nymph. 



11 



Danaus and Theseus 93 

121. Danaus.* — We shall see that the Greeks believed that those 
stained with crime in this world received just punishment for their 
sins in the world of the dead. None, perhaps, suffered more severely 
than the fifty daughters of Dan'a-us, an Egyptian king. His brother 
^gyptus had fifty sons who were ardent suitors for the fifty daughters 
of Danaus in spite of the latter's indifference. Danaus fled with his 
fifty daughters to Argos, but ^Egyptus and his sons followed swiftly. 
Escape seemed impossible, and Danaus pretended to consent to the 
marriages. On their wedding night he gave each daughter a sharp 
dagger and bade them slay their mates. Thus perished forty-nine 
of the husbands. One bride, Hy'perm-nes'tra, fond of her husband, 
Lyn'ceus, was unwilling to commit the murder. The gods, displeased 
with the maidens, condemned them to carry through all the ages urns 
of water up a steep and slippery bank in the vain attempt to fill a 
bottomless cask. Hypermnestra at first incurred the displeasure of 
her father, but later he forgave her. At his death Lynceus succeeded 
Danaus upon the throne of Argos. In later times Lynceus and Hy- 
permnestra were revered at Argos as heroes, and it is interesting to 
note that the Argives were often called Danaei. 

122. Athenian Myths. — It was under the direction of an autoch- 
thonous king, called Cecrops, half man, half serpent, that the Atheni- 
ans fixed their abode on the rocky hill known as the acropolis. The 
land was called after him, Cecropia. Cecrops grouped the people 
into twelve communities, and introduced the beginnings of civilized 
life. During his reign there arose a dispute between Athena and 
Poseidon for the possession of the city. The strife was to be decided 
by a contest as to which could produce the more useful gift to mor- 
tals. The gods were to act as jurors. Poseidon struck the acropolis 
with his trident and produced a well of salt water; while Athena 
planted an olive tree. The gods gave judgment that Athena had 
rendered the greater service and awarded to her the city which was 
named after the goddess, Athens. Both the olive tree and the 
well, situated on the acropolis, were revered by the Athenians. In 
later times Erechtheus, half serpent like Cecrops, ruled Attica. In 
his youth he had been reared by Athena, and so they were both 

* The following myths, in which a general impression that is true is 
embodied, point to early Greek connection with Egypt, Crete, Phoenicia 
and Lydia. 



94' Greek Myths 

worshipped in a temple on the acropolis, named the Erechtheum 
after Erechtheus. 

The deeds of Theseus, son of King ^geus of Athens, rivalled 
those of Heracles in destroying wicked men and monsters of all sorts. 
None of his exploits was more famous than that of slaying the dread- 
ful Min'o-taur. Athens had been accustomed to pay as tribute to 
Minos, king of Crete, seven maidens and seven youths at stated in- 
tervals. These were sacrificed to the Minotaur, a monster, half 
man, half bull, kept in a labyrinth at Cnossus. Theseus went of his 
own accord as one of the seven youths. Upon his arrival in Crete, 
A'ri-ad'ne, the daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus and 
gave him a sword — with which he slew the Minotaur — and a clue of 
thread by which he made his way out of the confusing windings of 
the labyrinth. Upon his return Theseus became king of Athens. 
Previously Attica had been broken up into independent townships. 
Theseus put an end to this, for he abolished the separate council 
chambers and governments making of Attica one state. In recogni- 
tion of this the Athenians celebrated yearly a festival in memory of 
the man who made Athens the chief city of a united state (§107). 

123. Theban Myths. — A-ge'nor, king of Phoenicia, could not be 
reconciled to the loss of his daughter, Europa, whom Zeus had 
stolen away. For many years his son, Cadmus, searched for her 
without success. Finally in obedience to the Delphic oracle Cad- 
mus gave up the quest and followed the wanderings of a cow. The 
cow led him a long distance and at last lay down in Boeotia. Accord- 
ing to the direction of the oracle he founded here the city of Thebes, 
but not till he had sown dragon's teeth in the earth as a voice com- 
manded him to do. Gradually there appeared from the surface a 
strange crop, — warriors all armed. Straightway they fell to fighting 
till all save five were slain. These made peace and joined with Cad- 
mus in building the city of Thebes. In later times the first Theban 
families proudly claimed descent from these five warriors. Cadmus 
is said to have introduced the alphabet from Phoenicia and to have 
taught his countrymen to read and write. 

A curse of the gods upon (Ed'i-pus, king of Thebes, brought bitter 
grief upon his family. King Qildipus married Queen Jocasta un- 
aware that she was his mother. When the queen became aware of 
the truth, she hanged herself in grief; while King (Edipus putting 



Pelops and Heracles 95 

out his eyes left his kingdom and never returned. But the wrath of 
the gods still rested on this unhappy family, for the king's two sons, 
E-te'o-cles and PoKy-nei'ces, quarrelled about the succession to the 
throne. Eteocles expelled his brother, Polyneices. Polyneices in- 
vited help from A-dras'tus, king of Argos, who equipped an army, led 
by seven. famous chiefs. From this fact the expedition is called that 
of "the seven against Thebes." Fearful were the combats before 
the walls of the city. The two brothers perished in a deadly duel, 
and an edict was issued by Creon, who had succeeded to the throne 
of (Edipus, forbidding the burial of their bodies. All obeyed this 
harsh command save An-tig'o-ne, a sister of Eteocles and Polyneices. 
But Antigone braved the wrath of Creon and buried the body of 
Polyneices. The story of Antigone forms the subject of a play of 
that name by the Athenian dramatist, Soph'o-cles. 

124. Pelops. — The Argive myths tell of a Lydian hero, Pelops, 
who won the hand of Hip'po-da-mei'a, daughter of OEn'o-ma'us, 
king of Pisa, in a chariot race extending from Olympia to the Co- 
rinthian isthmus. The terms were: a suitor to be successful must 
defeat the king, but, if vanquished in the race, one must forfeit his 
life. Thirteen defeated charioteers had perished when Pelops made 
trial of his skill. Pelops was much disheartened when he saw the 
heads of his conquered predecessors fixed above the door of the king, 
and so he devised the plan of enlisting the help of Myr'til-us, the 
charioteer of CEnomaus. Myrtilus did not properly fasten the wheels 
of the chariot of the king, who was in this way upset during the race. 
Thus Pelops won the race and his bride, and later he became the 
founder of a family that ruled in more than one Argolic city. Among 
his grandsons were the famous Greek chieftains, Men'e-la'us and 
Agamemnon. The fame of Pelops spread far and wide, and men 
took delight in calling southern Greece the Peloponnesus, after the 
hero; Pelops, who had driven his victorious chariot from the centre 
of the Peloponnesus to the isthmus of Corinth. 

125. Heracles. — ^Another hero whom the Greeks greatly admired 
and generally worshipped was Heracles, a son of Zeus. Hera plot- 
ted continually to overthrow the offspring of her rival. Two ser- 
pents were sent by the goddess to destroy the baby in his cradle, but 
the infant Heracles strangled each with his tiny hands. Later the 
hero was bound out to serve his cowardly cousin, Eu-rys'theus, king of 



96 Greek Myths 

Argos. Before he could again be free he must accomplish twelve 
great tasks placed upon him by Eurystheus. These all called for 
courage, strength and skill and were such as would have daunted 
any mortal man. They included the slaying of wicked men and 
dreadful monsters. The last task required that Heracles should de- 
scend to Hades and bring to the surface the triple-headed dog, Cer- 
berus. With the successful completion of the twelve labors the 
hero was free from his bondage to Eurystheus. He performed 
many other brave deeds during the remainder of his life, and when 
he died he was borne away to Mt. Olympus to live forever with the 
immortal gods. 

126. The Heracleidae. — The descendants of Heracles were kept 
out of their hereditary throne of Argos for three generations. The 
sons and grandsons of Heracles failed to regain their ancestral 
possessions, but the hero's three great-grandsons, Te'men-us, Cres- 
phontes and A'ris-to-de'mus were more successful. As the leaders 
of a great horde of Dorians they crossed the Corinthian gulf at Nau- 
pactus and overran the Peloponnesus. By the casting of the lot Te- 
menus received Argos, Cresphontes Messenia, Aristodemus Laconia. 
Aristodemus soon died leaving twin sons, Eu-rys'the-nes and Procles. 
The Spartans decreed that the sons should rule jointly and so Sparta 
came to have two kings. 

127. The Argonauts.— Ath'a-mas, a Thessalian king, put away 
his wife, Neph'e-le, who, fearing danger to her son and daughter, 
invoked the help of Hermes. The god gave her a ram with a golden 
fleece to convey the children out of harm's way. The ram with the 
children upon his back flew eastward. All went well till they were 
crossing over the strait separating Europe and Asia when the girl, 
Hel'le, frightened at the sight of the waves far beneath, fell from the 
ram's back into the body of water since called the Hellespont. 
Her brother, Phrixus, reached Colchis where he was kindly received 
by king iE-e'tes, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Jupiter. He hung 
the golden fleece on a tree, placing it under the care of a sleepless 
dragon. Now it happened that king i^son, who also ruled over a 
kingdom in Thessaly, had surrendered temporarily the cares of gov- 
ernment to his brother, Pelias, on the understanding that he should 
hold the power only till Jason, son of ^son, came of age. When the 
years were fulfilled and the time for Jason to rule was at hand, the 



The ArgonauU 97 

young prince hastened to his uncle and boldly demanded the crown. 
Pelias did not deny his recjuest, but suggested that it would be a 
glorious adventure for the young man to recover the golden fleece, 
which he artfully pretended belonged to Jason's family. Jason ac- 
cepted the challenge, and began the construction of a vessel, called 
the "Argo" (the Swift), capable of holding fifty men. He invited 
heroes from all Greece and many bold youths joined him. There 
were Heracles, Theseus, Orpheus and many others. From the name 
of their vessel they were called Argonauts. After many adventures 
and troubles they reached the distant shores of Colchis. King J?^etes 
promised to give up the golden fleece if Jason should plough a field 
with two fire-breathing bulls and sow it with dragon's teeth. The 
king's daughter, Me-de'a, who was a sorceress, helped Jason, the un- 
derstanding being that he should marry her. When the terrible bulls 
rushed forth breathing out fire, Jason, following Medea's directions, 
soothed their rage and forced them to go beneath the yoke. Next, 
when he had planted the dragon's teeth, a crop of giants, all clad in 
armor, came forth. The hero was for an instant filled with dismay, 
but he rushed on the warriors with sword and shield. Following the 
advice of Medea he cast a stone into their midst with the result that 
the giants attacked one another and soon none were left alive. Finally 
Medea showed Jason how by magic skill to outwit the dragon that 
kept guard over the golden fleece. In the night she led Jason to the 
fleece and sent the dragon to sleep, and when his great eyes were shut 
in slumber, the hero seized the prize. With his companions and 
Medea Jason hastened to his good ship "Argo," and, although the 
swift oarsmen of king ^etes tried to overtake them, they were not 
successful. After many wanderings and adventures, Jason and 
Medea and their companions came in safety to Thessaly. 

128. The Epics Serve the Cause of Unity. — The work 
of the Epic poets (§ 109J had done much to cement 
Hellenic unity. The dialect in which they sang, the 
heroic figures and deeds they pictured and the gods they 
celebrated became the common property of the Greek 
' world. Some of the splendid divine beings of the epics 
were honored everywhere. Zeus and Apollo became 



98 



Growth of States 



DelpU. 



Olympia. 



Amphicty- 
onies. 



universal Hellenic gods. The shrine of Apollo at Delphi 
was a kind of centre of religious life. The noblest re- 
ligious leadership of the time was given by his priests 
there; it became the custom to obtain from him his sanc- 
tion for many enterprises. At Delphi the god spoke 
through his priestess in utterances called oracles. No 
colony could be sent out without Apollo's oracle; kings 
from the world without sought his wisdom and sent him 
rich gifts (§ 117). What Apollo did for Greek unity at 
Delphi, Zeus in a different way did at Olympia. There 
every four years a festival in honor of the god was cele- 
brated from the earliest times, in connection with which 
athletic contests were held. All the Greek cities sent con- 
testants thither. The list of the victors was preserved. 
The tradition makes this list date from 776 B.C., which is 
the first year of the first Olympiad, or four years' period, 
on which Greek chronology was based for a long time. 
During the festival, literary works by poets and historians 
were read in public and works of art exhibited. Any 
Greek was eligible to compete. Though the reward was 
only a crown of olive leaves, the glory of the victor was 
the applause of all Greece. Religion also encouraged the 
union of districts in what was called an am-phic'ty-o-ny. 
Usually a sanctuary was the meeting-point where depu- 
ties met at regular intervals in an- amphictyonic council, 
and the affairs of the god and his worshippers were the 
matters discussed. During its sessions peace ruled over 
the whole territory. In connection with these amphicty- 
onies appear the names of many states afterward famous. 
In middle Greece the Boeotian amphictyony was formed; 
on the island of Delos that of the lonians; most famous 
of all was that which met at Delphi and in which the 



I 



Money arid Writ'mg 99 

Thessalians were the leading spirits. Of the influence 
of this union we learn from the two obligations resting 
on its members: no city belonging to it was to be de- 
stroyed, nor, in case of siege, could running water be cut 
off from a city. Thus a kind of beginning of interna- 
tional law, applying in a limited circle, was made. 

129. (b) Growth of Civilization. — The second way in 
which the new life appeared (§ 118) was in the progress of 
thought and manners — what we call Civilization. Two Use of 

T • /-111 Money, 

most important thmgs came to Greece through com- 
mercial life — the use of money and the art of writing. 
The old form of exchange was by natural products. 
Cattle were often the standard of value, as the Latin word 
for money indicates, pe-cu'ni-a (from pecus, "cattle"). 
But such means will not do for commercial life. Metals 
soon came in — at first bars of copper or iron. Later 
the precious metals were used, as in the east (§ 23), and 
soon they were coined into money. The Lydians are 
said to have first coined money, in the seventh century. 
The state guaranteed the weight and fineness according 
to a fixed scale and stamped the piece of gold or silver 
with a sign or mark of genuineness. From Lydia the 
custom crossed to Greece; in ^Egina, it is said, the first 
Greek coins were made. In the case of writing it seems Art of 
that the Greek merchants also introduced that art into 
Greece. They borrowed the alphabet from the Phoeni- 
cians (§ 53) and improved it. At first it assumed a va- 
riety of forms according to the commercial cities that 
adopted it. Finally the Ionic alphabet became the 
standard. In the eighth century men began to employ 
writing for public purposes — for the lists of officials and 
of the Olympian victors (§ 128). A century after it ap- 



100 Growth of States 

pears on gifts to the gods and on monuments. Finally, 
toward the close of the age comes its general use in lit- 
erature. 

130. Interest in Living Men and Their Doings. — An- 
other mark of the higher life of the time is seen in the 
greater interest felt in the present, and in the thoughts 
and feelings of living men. Homer sang of the deeds 
of the heroes of old; he says not a word about his own 
time. But Hesiod, although he laments the misery of 
his day, calling the present the "iron age," still talks 
and reflects upon it. And now appeared poets who, in 
ve;rse called e-le-gi'ac or iambic, dwelt upon events of their 
own day, expressing in satire their disgust at their rulers, 
calling to a nobler life or urging some political reform. 
Such poets were Ar-chil'o-chus of Paros (648 B.C.), and 

Lyric Poets. The-og'nis of Megara (540 B.C.) . Others became famous 
by their poetic expression of feeling, in lyrical songs of 
love and marriage, of feasting and social joys, of war 

Music. and victory or of praise to the gods.* Accompanying 
this outburst of reflective and passionate poetry was a 
development of the art of music by the discovery of the 
octave and the lyre of seven strings which opened up a 
great variety of harmonies. All this means that knowl- 
edge was broadening, thought was awakened, pleasures 
were becoming finer and higher, life was growing fuller 
and man felt himself of more worth in the world. 

131., Interest in the Problem of Origins. — As we have 
seen (§ 119), men had already begun to think more about 
the wo.dd in which they lived — how it came to be and 

* The most celebrated were Al-cae'us (600 B.C.) and Sappho the poetess 
(610 B.C.), both of Lesbos, A-nac're-on of Ionia (530 B.C.) and Alcman of 
Sparta (660 B.C.). 



Religion and Science 101 

what kept it in being. Religion, naturally, was first called 
on for the answer to these questions, and told how the 
power and will of the gods made all things to be. To 
Hesiod all beginnings were divine. First came Chaos and 
Earth and Heaven and Night and Day, and Sea, and Time 
and Love — all gods. Earth was peopled with mighty de- 
structive beings called Titans, against whom Zeus waged 
war and won the victory, thus bringing order and harmony 
into the world. Then the gods created man and endowed 
him with power to rule all things on earth. The earth Cosmog- 
was thought of as a curved disk with Greece in the mid- 
dle and Mt. Olympus, where the gods dwelt, in the exact 
centre. It was divided into two parts by the Mediter- 
ranean and all round it flowed the Ocean stream. The 
earth was the centre of the universe; above it was the 
ethereal region of Olympus; beneath it was Hades, the 
underworld; at a yet deeper depth was Tar'tar-us, where 
were imprisoned the wicked immortals, chief among 
whom were the Titans. The resemblance of this scheme 
to that of the eastern world is obvious (§ ^t^) ; it may have 
been in part derived from that source. 

132. Dawn of Science and Philosophy. — But when 
Greeks began to travel, to come into contact with strange 
countries and peoples outside of the former horizon of 
Greek life, they were not satisfied with this purely religious 
explanation. They began to study nature itself and find 
the secrets of its origin and life in material things. Thus, 
in the Greek world appeared philosophers and scientific 
men who drank in eastern wisdom and exercised their 
own keen wits on the problems of nature. Tha'les of xhaiesof 
Miletus (600 B.C.) was a student of mathematics and 
physics; he calculated an eclipse, measured the height of 



102 



Growth of States 



Heraclitus. 



The Spirit 
of Inquiry. 



The Seven 
Wise Men. 



the pyramids of Egypt by their shadow, and knew the 
lore of the heavens. He held that everything in the 
universe came from Water. To An-ax-im'e-nes (550 B.C.) 
this foundation principle was Air, To Her'a-cli'tus (500 
B.C.) it was Fire. He did not believe that there was any- 
thing permanent in the world. "All things flow," he 
said, or, "all things are burning." The only reality is 
the fact of change. These Ionic thinkers found worthy 
companions in the philosophers of Greater Greece, where 
Py-thag'o-ras (540 B.C.) sought the source of all things in 
Number, and Xe-noph'a-nes of E'le-a (575 B.C.) saw at 
the heart of the universe one God directing all things by 
the might of his reason. In all these, to us, crude ways 
of thinking, we may see the working of the fine Greek 
intelligence. These thinkers were not satisfied with ideas 
that prevailed only because they were handed down from 
of old. They must find for themselves what was really 
and finally true. 

133. Interest in Practical Life. — As these Greeks be- 
gan to study nature, so they also came to study man 
and his duties. Hesiod in his Works and Days wrote 
on how to be a successful farmer. Others followed him 
in this teaching of wisdom, of practical life in state and 
society. About the year 600 B.C. in the Greek world 
the most distinguished of these teachers were known as 
the "Seven Wise Men."* Sometimes they expressed 
their thought in proverbs like "Nothing too much," 
"Unlucky is he who cannot bear ill-luck." "Wisdom is 
the finest possession," "Know thyself." 



* They were Thales of Miletus, Pit'ta-cus of Mytilene, Bias of Pri-e'ne, 
Solon of Athens, Cle'o-bu'lus of Lindos, Cheilon (Kl'lon) of Sparta and 
Periander of Corinth. 



Netv Popular Faiths 103 

134. Changes in Religion. — We may be sure that re- 
ligion also partook of the new spirit of the times. The 
Olympian gods became everywhere the guardians of 
state and society. Temples began to be built in their Temples, 
honor and richly decorated; their praise in song and 
dance became more stately and splendid; the sculptures 
in tomb and temple show increasing mastery of art in 
the service of this religion of divine life and beauty. But The New 
by the side of this public or official religion appears paft^'^"^ 
another which appealed to the individual and sought to 
meet his need of divine favor. This faith centres about 
deities who had not been prominent in the Olympian 
circle — Di'o-ny'sus and De-me'ter. To Dionysus, the god 
of the vine, giver of Joy and ecstasy, and to Demeter, 
the nourishing mother-earth, bestower of life and food 
to all, an enthusiastic popular devotion was poured out. 
One great reason for their worship was its outlook into 
the life beyond the grave. The changes that were com- 
ing over the face of the times did not in all respects bring 
happiness and peace to men; they created problems the 
solution of which was uncertain and unpromising. 
Naturally, men sought consolation in the hope of the 
world beyond. Little there was of this in the old faith. 
But the new faith had a new message on this subject. 
To him who with a pure heart took part in the cere- 
monial of worship of these gods was promised a brighter 
world beyond, where there was freedom from care and 
sin. This ceremonial .was called the Mysteries. What The 
it consisted of we do not know exactly, but we do know 
that those who took part in it were pledged to a life of 
purity and enjoyed the hope of an immortal life. It was 
an appeal to the heart, not to the head; it was a religion 



104 



Growth of States 



Decline of 
Aristocratic 
Govern- 
ments. 



for the people; mystical and enthusiastic as it was, it 
became a power for good and a spring of some of the 
noblest forms of- Greek life. 

135. (c) Political Changes. — We have kept the political 
changes of the time to the last (§ 118). They show most 
simply and clearly the influence of the new forces; it was 
in them and through them that the other changes could 
come to the surface and work themselves out. They 
form also the connecting link between this and the fol- 
lowing periods. We have seen how everywhere the aris- 
tocracy had gained possession of Greek politics (§ 106). 
In many states they not merely ruled the citizens; they 
were the citizens. But commerce had now made many 
besides the aristocracy wealthy and influential. It had 
brought individuals everywhere, no matter what their 
station in life was, to a larger knowledge of the world 
and their own place in it (§ 130). While some had grown 
rich, others had become poor; the farmers, especially, 
suffered through borrowing money from usurers at ruin- 
ous rates of interest; for being scarce and much in de- 
mand money was exceedingly dear, and an unpaid loan 
rapidly doubled and tripled in amount. Thus disturb- 
ances and difficulties appeared on every hand in Greek 
political life. The aristocracy, feeling its power threat- 
ened, did as those frequently do who feel that their posi- 
tion is growing weaker — they used all means to keep it; 
they acted unjustly and despotically. This only made 
matters worse, and they were finally forced to yield to 
the storm. 

136. Rise of the Lawgivers. — One chief cause of com- 
plaint was that they alone knew the law and adminis- 
tered it according to their own will. Hence, the de- 



Rise of Tyrants 105 

mand arose for the publication of the law. It was 
secured in a truly Greek fashion. One man was chosen, 
the best man in the state, to whom all power was given 
that he might prepare, publish and administer a code 
of law which should be binding upon the people. Thus, The Codes 
almost every Greek state of the time had its lawgiver, 
or in later days traced its law-code back to some great 
man who was thought to be its author. Such famous 
names were Za-leu'cus of Locri, Lycurgus of Sparta, Pit- 
tacus of Mytilene, Solon of Athens. As a result, people 
knew what the law was and could fix the responsibility 
for crime and injustice. The broad and deep meaning 
of such a measure should not be overlooked. That the 
state owed it to the citizens to do justice on the basis of a 
public code of laws, that the best man in the state should 
prepare these laws, and that, once put forth, it was the 
citizen's duty to obey them — these were principles which 
no ancient people had before so fully realized. 

137. Appearance of the Tyrants. — The publication of 
the laws had saved the aristocratic rule for the time, 
but it had not been accompanied with any larger politi- 
cal rights to those outside the circle of the nobles. Hence 
arose a new struggle. All who were dissatisfied with 
aristocratic rule joined together in opposition to it; the 
whole body was called the de'mos, the "people," and 
their aim was the overflow of the ruling powers. They 
succeeded. Here and there men put themselves at the 
head of the revolutionary movement and by it gained the 
supreme power for themselves. These men were called 
tyrants. They were really kings, reviving the old mon- 
archy, with larger powers. They destroyed the rule of splendor of 

, . , 1 1 • • 1 • Their Rule. 

the aristocracy and governed their states with vigor 



106 Growth of States 

and splendor. All over the Greek world, so far as it was 
progressive, in these days (about 650 B.C.) tyrants ap- 
peared and in some states continued to rule down to the 
last Greek age. They favored commerce and trade, 
grew rich from their skilful management of affairs, 
adorned their cities with magnificent buildings, en- 
couraged art and literature, and with much political wis- 
dom guided their states in new paths of progress. 
The people, by whose aid they had gained their place, 
were not, indeed, given any political rights, but the sat- 
isfaction of having rid themselves of aristocratic rule 
and the enlarged prosperity and comfort enjoyed were 
sufficient for the time to satisfy them. 

138. Some of the Tyrants. — One of the first tyrants 
was Thras'y-bu'lus of Miletus, a shrewd and energetic 
ruler, who was able to keep his city independent of 
Lydia (§§ 75, 117). In Corinth the aristocracy was over- 
thrown by Cyp'se-lus, whose father was a commoner, 
but his mother of a noble family. His son Periander 
followed him (625-585 B.C.). He was a friend and ally 
of Thrasybulus. 

Herodotus relates a characteristic story of their relations: "He sent 
a messenger to Thrasybulus and asked what settlement of affairs was 
the safest for him to make, in order that he might best govern his 
state: and Thrasybulus led forth the messenger who had come from 
Periander out of the city, and entered into a field of growing corn; 
and as he passed through the crop of corn, while inquiring and ask- 
ing questions repeatedly of the messenger about the occasion of his 
coming from Corinth, he kept cutting off the heads of those ears of 
corn which he saw higher than the rest; and as he cut off their heads 
he cast them away, until he had destroyed in this manner the finest 
and richest part of the crop. So having passed through the place and 
having suggested no word of counsel, he dismissed the messenger. 



Fall of Tyrants 107 

When the messenger returned to Corinth, Periander was anxious to 
hear the counsel which had been given; but he said that Thrasybulus 
had given him no counsel, and added that he wondered at the deed 
of Periander in sending him to such a man, for the man was out of his 
senses and a waster of his own goods — relating at the same time that 
which he had seen Thrasybulus do. So Periander, understanding 
that which had been done and perceiving that Thrasybulus coun- 
selled him to put to death those who were eminent among his subjects, 
began then to display all manner of evil treatment to the citizens of 
the state; for whatsoever Cypselus had left undone in killing and 
driving into exile, this Periander completed." 

139. Corinth under Periander.— But Periander was 
more than a despot and a butcher. He raised his city 
to the leading place among the states of his day in con- 
tinental Greece. Her power on the sea was mighty. Maritime 
The first war-ships with three banks of oars — called of"corinth. 
triremes — were built at Corinth. With his fleet Perian- 
der subdued Corcyra in the first recorded sea-fight of 

Greek history. He was a patron of letters. The poet 
Arion was said to have been an ornament of his court, and 
tradition has made the tyrant one of the "Seven Wise 
Men" of Greece (§ 133). Another famous tyrant was 
Cleisthenes of Sicyon who freed his city from the influence 
of Argos, put down the nobles with a strong hand and 
took vigorous part in the general affairs of Greece. 

140. Decline and Fall of the Tyrants.^The new spirit 
of Greece, which had raised the tyrants to the throne, 
would not let them remain there long. The nobles 
were always hostile to them; the demos, still deprived 
of political rights, grew dissatisfied. Then the tyrants * 
in their turn grew more despotic, and ruled by force 

* Owing to this later form of the tyranny our \yord " tyrant" has a 
bad meaning. 



108 



Growth of States 



and fear, until all parties united to put them down. 
The tyranny usually lasted no longer than the second 
generation. It had accomplished one result — the uni- 
versal rule of the aristocracy had perished and the way 
was opened for the advance of the people. When it fell, 
its place was taken usually by citizens prominent because 
of their property, and the change was accompanied by 
making more of the people citizens. Such a govern- 
ment was called a timocracy (from the Greek ti-me, 
"value") and was a step toward putting the control of 
affairs in the hands of the citizens — the form of govern- 
ment called democracy (from the Greek demos, "peo- 
ple"). Democracy, the special contribution of Greece 
to political progress, was worked out in the next period. 



REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following famous: 
Theognis, Thales, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Alcaeus, Amasis, Anac- 
reon? 2. What is meant by amphictyony, mysteries, Hel- 
lenes, elegiac, penteconter, trireme? 3. What is the date 
of the First Olympiad? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the early Greek idea 
of the form of the world with that of the Egyptians and Baby- 
lonians (§ ^T,). 2. Compare the political effects of commerce 
and trade upon the Greeks with their effect upon oriental 
peoples (§§ 20, 23, 50-53). 

SELECT LIST FOR READIHG- i. Greek Ships. Bury, pp. 109- 
iio. 2. The Games and the Oracles. Bury, pp. 139-144. 
3, The Greek Temple. Bury, p. 152. 4. The Lyric Poets. 
Bury, pp. 118-119. 5. Hesiod and His School. Bury, pp. 107- 
108. 6. The Lawgivers. Bury, pp. 144-146. 7. The Tyrants. 
Bury, pp. 146-157. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Greek Ships. 
Diets, of Antiquities, articles "Ship" or "Navy." 2. The Games 
and the Oracles. Morey, pp. 150-153; Botsford, pp. 98-103; 
Zimmern, ch. 2. 3. How Reduce Olympiads to Terms of Our 
Chronology? Abbott, Skeleton Outline, p. 18. 4. The Ionic 



The Helots 109 

Philosophers. Morey, pp. 161-164; Bolsford, pp. 92-96. 5. The 
Greek Temple. Morey, pp. 154-158. 6. The Lyric Poets. 
Morey, pp. 159-161; Botsford, pp. 89-90; Capps, pp. 141-172; 
Shuckburgh, pp, 27-29; Jebb, p. 491. 7. Hesiod and His School. 
Botsford, pp. 87-88; Murray, pp. 53-62; Capps, pp. 129-140; 
Jebb, pp. 40-46. 8. The Tyrants. Botsford, pp. 64-70. 



4.— SPARTA AND ATHENS 

141. The Two Leading States of the Time. — Among 
the city-states that from time to time have appeared in 
the history of these centuries, two come forward prom- 
inently as we draw near the close of this age — Sparta 
and Athens. They show the influence of the forces which 
have been described, and they became later the leading 
states of Greece. The story of their rise and early his- 
tory, therefore, properly preludes the period of Greek 
greatness. 

142. Sparta Conquers Laconia. — The Dorians who Mixture of 
occupied Laconia (§ 102) settled down in villages, extirpat- ^^°p^^^- 
ing the earlier Greek population here, fusing with it there. 

The old centre, Amyclae, was not occupied, but not far 
off on the opposite side of the Eu-ro'tas river five little 
villages developed in close proximity to one another. 
These five formed the city of Sparta; and in a few gen- 
erations prior to about 720 B.C. its inhabitants subdued 
all the other villages of Laconia. 

143. The Helots. — The people whose property lay in serfs, 
the rich river valley the Spartans reduced to serfdom, tak- 
ing from them their lands and arms and denying to them 
liberty to organize or to move away from the plots which 
they tilled. About one-half of the yield the conquerors 
took for themselves. The subject people were called 



110 



Rise of Sparta 



Dependent 

Allies. 



Spartan 
Expansion. 



Helots, and lived a life of miserable dependence upon the 
moods of their conquerors. 

144. The Perioeci. — With the villages which lay on the 
hill slopes around "hollow Lac-e-dae'mon" the Spartans 
dealt quite generously. They left them their private prop- 
erty, their communal organization and citizen rights. 
They could engage in whatever occupation they pleased 
and possessed full liberty of movement. On the other 
hand they were required, like the Roman colonies, to 
serve in war with the Spartans at the call of the latter 
and could not enter into negotiations with foreign cities 
except through Sparta. From the way in which their 
towns and land lay in a circle all round the valley in 
which the Helots were massed they were called Per'i-oe'ci 
— dwellers round about. They served at once to keep 
the Helots from escaping abroad and foreigners from giv- 
ing arms to them or inciting them to revolt. They shared 
in the glory of the Spartans and always supported them 
loyally. 

145. First Messenian War. — About 720 B.C. the Spar- 
tans conquered Messenia and transferred over the Ta- 
yg'e-tus mountains the system of classes already in ex- 
istence in Laconia. The Messenians in the river valley 
became Helots. Perioec towns ■ surrounded them on all 
sides except on the coast near the island of Sphacteria. 
Here was a stretch of rough grazing land where straggling 
Helots tended the Spartan herds. The final annexations 
made by Sparta were in the district at the headwaters 
of the Eurotas (Sciritis) and the tract beyond Parnon 
(Cynuria). When this was accomplished there were 
about 12,000 Spartans, 60,000 Perioeci and 180,000 
Helots. The Spartan state was thus an inverted pyramid.^ 



Helot Revolts 111 

146. Revolt of Messenians. — In the third generation 
after the conquest the Helots of Messenia tried to over- 
turn this ill-balanced combination. In their revolt they 
had the support of all the Peloponnesian cities which felt 
menaced by the expansion of Sparta. Of these the most 
important was the Dorian city Argos. At this time a Pheidon 
vigorous king called Pheidon was on the Argive throne ° '^°^' 
(about 660 B.C.). He was in hearty sympathy with the 

new life of the day, as is shown by a system of weights 
and measures introduced by him, which spread all over 
Greece; it was called the yE'gi-net'an system. To check 
Sparta's victorious progress, he joined with two other 
Peloponnesian states, Arcadia and Pisatis, and, in con- 
nection with the rebellion of the Messenians, entered on 
a conflict with Sparta, which is called the Second Mes- 
senian War (about 650 B.C.). Yet, though the struggle 
was long and fierce, Sparta was finally victorious here 
also. 

147. Spartans Become Professional Soldiers. — But 
though the extremity of the danger was safely past, the 
number of the Spartans was so small and the number of 
their Helots so great that the slightest relaxation would 

bring about a recurrence of the peril. Hence the Spar- Krypteia. 
tans continued for year after year to declare war upon 
their serfs, and required young men, organized as a secret 
police (Kryp-tei'a), to move about among them and slay 
all who seemed restless or over-ambitious. This did not 
suffice, however. Henceforth, the whole Spartan popu- 
lation of military age remained constantly in readiness to 
take the field at a moment's notice. Their tents were 
pitched on Hyacinth street midway between the five 
villages. 



112 Bise of Sparta 

Tent Life. 1 48. The Messes. — Each tent was occupied by a mess 
(syssitia) . In the tents the several companies of the army 
• lounged and slept, and ate the famous black broth. There 
they had their arms. At a moment's notice they could 
form in battle line and meet all attempts of the Helots, 
however well contrived, " to rush their lager." Out in the 
villages lived the women, the young girls, the men over 
sixty who were past the time of active service and the 
infants of both sexes under seven years of age, 

149. The Spartan Women. — Since their fathers, hus- 
bands and brothers were constantly absent in the barracks 
and dare not be seen by daylight in the village, the women 
moved about freely and had a chance to manage things 

Heroism. in a Way not known elsewhere in Greece. The military 
Ideal dominated their life also; they were doubtless a 
rough burly lot, but they produced a race of vigorous 
warriors, and were wont to tell those dearest to them on 
their departure for war to return "with their shields or 
on them." 

Spartan 150. Spartan Educatlon. — At the age of seven the boys 

were taken from their homes and put with other youths 
of their own age in "pens" and "herds" whom the grown 
men between twenty and thirty years of age drilled and 
"fagged." They had to live by their wits. They got 
scraps from the men's tables, but were left without a roof 
at night so that they had to make for themselves out-of- 
door beds of Eurotas reeds. What they lacked for food 
they got by stealing, and the thief who was not detected 
was held to have done nothing dishonorable. 

151. The Dorian Phalanx.— ^All their lives, both while 
boys and after they were elected into the ranks of the men, 
and after, at the age of thirty, they had become full citi- 



Ideals. 



Decay of Spartan Culture 113 

zens, the Spartans spent in gymnastic exercises and in 
drill; for they had to take their places in the compact Do- 
rian phalanx, the great military machine which the Spar- 
tans invented and which proved so efficient that the loose- 
formation single-combat mode of fighting, characteristic 
of the age of the nobles, became rapidly antiquated. The The 
heroes and knights disappeared and the closely massed in- d^sse^s 
fantry of spearmen in which the middle classes served be- ^'^"■■" '^« 

. Aimy. 

came the main dependence of all prosperous states. No- 
where was the new system so effective as at Sparta.* 

152. The Decay of Spartan Culture. — Now that the Auinter- 
Spartans had become professional soldiers, in camp from E^^J^t^^^ 
twenty to sixty, they ceased to have other occupations or Warfare, 
interests. Up to about 650 B.C. Sparta had not been 
different from other Greek cities; it had intimate com- 
mercial relations with the outside world; it produced 
poets like Alcman and Tyr-t£e'us; it patronized musical 
innovators like Terpander; it had sculptors and architects. 
A great temple to Athena — Athena of the brazen house — 
was constructed, and the state was hospitable to all the 
new ideas and inventions which were breaking down the 
regime of the Middle Age. Henceforth, however, the 
ring wall of Perioeci shut out all foreign life. Foreigners 
who worked their way through were rounded up at inter- 
vals and forcefully ejected. The only money current in 
Sparta was of iron and of small denomination. The only 
music tolerated was the march, the only poetry the war- 
song. Their words were few; they preferred deeds. 

* In later times the Spartans ascribed this constitution of theirs to a 
lawgiver named Lycurgus and wove a story about him and his doings. 
In fact he was a god whom they had once worshipped and whom they 
turned into a man and made the founder of the system. It really sprang 
up in the natural way just descrilied. 



114 Rise of Sparta 

There were no more poets or sculptors or architects. The 
laws remained unwritten, since few could read them. 
Sparta ceased to be a place of high culture and relapsed 
into primitive barbarism, redeemed only by the habit of 
unhesitating obedience to the officials. 

153. The Government of Sparta. — ^The supreme au- 
thorities in Sparta were two kings, the office being he- 
reditary in rival famihes — the leaders in time of war, 
once the chief civil magistrates also; the council of elders 
(gerusia), made up of thirty m.embers, including the 
kings. The elders were chosen from the retired veterans 
on the basis of popularity as shown by the applause with 
which they were greeted when they presented themselves 
before the army. In addition there were the ephors, whose 
original duty was to see that all the citizens, the kings in- 
cluded, obeyed the prescriptions of the common military 
life, but who used the power thus given to direct the whole 
domestic and foreign policy of the state. The army met 
as a body in the Apella and had power neither to discuss 
nor to amend, but simply to say yea or nay to the proposals 
submitted to it by the kings, ephors and elders. 

154. The Peloponnesian League. — Next we find Sparta 
pushing northward up the Eurotas valley against the 
neighboring city of Te''ge-a. Against these Arcadian 
mountaineers not much headway was made; whereupon 
Sparta adopted a new political policy. A treaty was 
made, whereby Tegea, in return for being left in peace, 
agreed to contribute a force to the Spartan army when 
an offensive or defensive war had been undertaken by 
mutual consent and to make Sparta's friends her friends. 
Otherwise she remained a free city and had entire con- 
trol over her own action even in foreign affairs. This 



I 



Attic Geography 115 

plan worked so well that Sparta proceeded to extend it inde- 
to other cities, until finally, on these conditions, a league Ames" 
of all the Peloponnesian states except Argos was formed 
under Spartan leadership. By 550 B.C. Sparta was the Spartathe 
greatest Greek state; besides her own territories, Elis, Power in 
Corinth, ^gina, Megara and Sicyon were members of ^"ece. 
the league. Foreign powers coming into contact with 
Greece sought her alliance. Thus she joined with Lydia 
and the other eastern states against Cyrus (§ 75). Out- 
side the Peloponnesus she was involved in relations with 
other Greek communities, particularly with the growing 
state of Athens. To understand these larger complica- 
tions we must turn aside to follow the rise and early his- 
tory of Athens. 

155. Athens. — Attica, of which Athens was the chief 
city, was a rough, poorly watered and unproductive penin- 
sula, jutting out into the ^gean and cut off from the rest 
of Greece by Mt. Par'nes, an offshoot of the Cith-se'ron 
range. The city lay in a little valley through which the Position. 
Ce-phis'sus flowed to the southwest into the Saronic gulf. 
Dwellers in the plain had early gathered about a lofty 
isolated mass of rock, the Acropolis, so easy of defence as 

to be marked out for the centre of a city. The plain 
sloped gently to the sea and was itself protected by moun- 
tains on either side. The community worshipped the 
goddess Athena, its patron and defender, who gave the 
name to the city. The prevailing race-type was Ionian. People. 
At the end of the Middle Age Athens had united all the 
inhabitants of the peninsula in one city-state (§ 107). 

156. Early Organization.— Moreover, when we come 
to know Athens, the aristocracy was already in control. 
Traditions told how kings had once ruled, but these had 



116 Rise of Athens 

gradually been restricted in powers and in dignities,* until 
hardly more remained to remind one of them than the 
name "king" applied to the chief minister of religion. 
In their place came yearly officials called archons, nine 
in number, for the conduct of civil, military, religious 
and financial administration. The tribal council took 
two forms: (i) a body composed of forty-eight, the repre- 
sentatives of local districts, each of which supplied a war- 
ship (naus), and hence was called a Nau-cra'ri-a, and (2) 
a body made up, it seems, of ex-officials charged chiefly 
with Judicial powers, called the Council of the A-re-op'a- 
gus (the " Hill of Curses"). Of course, both officials and 
councils were limited to aristocrats, who also controlled, 
if they did not make up, the public assembly. As else- 
where., so especially in Athens, there was a large number 
of freemen who, under aristocratic administration, were 
entirely outside of public activities. The members of 
noble houses, like the Me-don'ti-das and the Alc-mae-on'i- 
das, were all-powerful; none could break into their close 
circle. Their heads were leaders and their members were 
citizens of the state. The army was organized in three 
divisions: first, the knights (hippeis), the aristocrats who 
could afford to have war-horses and fine weapons; sec- 
ond, the heavy-armed footmen (zeugitas, i.e., who had 
farms big enough to employ a yoke of oxen); third, the 
light-armed troops (thetes, i.e., petty land-owners and 
farm laborers). All the people of Attica were divided 

* Another version tells how the Athenians abolished the kingship con- 
sidering no one worthy to succeed Codrus. At the time of a Pelopon- 
nesian invasion, King Codrus, they said, visited the enemy's camp dressed 
in peasant clothes, and, provoking a quarrel, was slain. This sacrifice 
of his own life he made to save Athens, for an oracle had affirmed that 
either the king or the city must perish. This story is a late invention. 



Draco and Solon 117 

into four phylae, each with its chief, each at once a 
regiment and an electoral division of the popular as- 
sernbly. 

157. Tyrants and Lawgivers. — But, in time, the aristo- 
cratic state was affected by the new life. A certain noble, 
Cylon by name, a son-in-law of The-ag'e-nes, tyrant of 
Megara, attempted to make himself tyrant (about 635 
B.C.), but without success. Commerce was making some 
men rich and others poor; farmers were in debt and many 
were being sold into slavery. The demos was rising. A Draco. 
lawgiver (§ 136), Dra'co, was appointed (about 624 B.C.). 

His legislation gave Athens written provisions for settling 
business and other disputes, thus limiting the power of 
the magistrates in recognizing cases, conducting trials and 
imposing penalties. The most durable of these drew a 
noteworthy distinction between the penalty for different 
sorts of murder. Heretofore, all killing had been mur- 
der and its penalty death at the hands of the relatives of 
the dead man (§ 105). Now, accidental or justifiable 
homicide was distinguished in its punishment from wilful 
murder. As Draco's laws were chiefly a collection of the 
old customs of the land, they seemed to the later Atheni- 
ans exceedingly severe and were said to have been " writ- 
ten in blood." Another trial of a lawgiver was made in Soion. 
594 B.C., by the choice of Solon as sole archon of the state 
with unlimited authority in the settlement of affairs; and 
to him Athens owed in addition to a new constitution a 
second code of civil law which was a vast improvement 
on that of Draco. 

158. Early Athenian Expansion. — Athens had already Commerce 
begun to enter heartily into the commercial activity of the 

time. Pottery was manufactured; olive oil — the chief 



118 



Rise of Athens 



Cancelling 
of Debts. 



The 

Council 
of 400. 



natural product of Attica — exported and, possibly, grain 
imported; colonizing entered upon. An important sta- 
tion on the trade route to the Black sea was secured — • 
Si-ge'um on the northwestern coast of Asia Minor. A 
great hindrance was Megara's possession of Salamis, the 
island at the very gates of Athens. A struggle to secure 
it for Athens had been crowned with victory through the 
inspiring war-poetry of Solon. He was, therefore, a prom- 
inent man; an aristocrat, but a friend of the people, eager 
to deliver them from their distresses and to give them a 
place and a part in the state. 

159. Constitution of Solon. — The measures of Solon 
were vital and thorough-going. The fundamental thing 
he did was to make all free native-born people really citi- 
zens. Second, he relieved them from their chief burdens 
by remitting all debts contracted on their lands or se- 
cured on the person or family of the debtor. Third, he 
gave all some part in the conduct of the state. All the 
citizens, rich and poor alike, were made members of the 
public assembly. All over thirty years old and of good 
moral character were eligible to membership in a new 
court of justice called the Hel-i-se'a, which was the final 
court of appeal. The Council of the Areopagus was con- 
stituted as a criminal court and given supervision of the 
laws. The other council was transformed by being in- 
creased to four hundred members and called the Boule 
or senate. Its chief function was to prepare business for 
the pubhc assembly. The higher magistracies, those of 
archon, treasurer, etc., were open only to men of the largest 
wealth; the lesser offices could be occupied by the less 
wealthy citizens. The distribution of administrative po- 
sitions, while in principle based on wealth, resulted in 



Pisistratus 119 

actual practice in giving the highest offices to the most 
influential hippeis, and in dividing the rest of the places 
between the other hippeis and the zeugita;. No thetes 
were eligible for the magistracy. The state, therefore, The 
remained aristocratic in administration, although the pco- spirit of 
pie at large were given political rights never before pos- ^o'°n's 
sessed; these in tim.e were certain to be emphasized and tion. 
enlarged. It may be truly said that Solon was the founder 
of the Athenian democracy. 

1 60. Pisistratus, Tyrant. — The constitution made by 
Solon prepared the way for progress, but it did not act- 
ually bring relief to the state. Conflict and distress con- 
tinued. Finally, by the aid of the peasants (chiefly 
thetes), a nobleman called Pi-sis'tra-tus was able to usurp 
the government in 561 B.C., and though driven from 
power, regained it about 545 B.C., and was tyrant until 
his death in 528 B.C. By him, the poor peasants, who His Admin- 
had been relieved of their debts and given citizenship by 
Solon, were granted land and money to set up farming 
and to become self-supporting and useful citizens. They 
could not exercise political rights, but became econom- 
ically comfortable. Pisistratus favored commerce, which 
brought increasing wealth to the state. His court, like His Court, 
those of the other tyrants (§ 137), was brilliant; literature 
and art were encouraged. It is said, probably without 
warrant of fact, that Homer's poems were first written 
down under his patronage and that he established a li- 
brary at Athens. A temple to Athena, the patron god- 
dess of the city, was built, another to Zeus begun, and in 
general he fostered the worship of the national Homeric 
gods at the expense of the local clan cults. An important Religious 

Festivals. 

part of the religion of the Athenian peasants had long 



120 Rise of Athens 

been the village festivals of the god Dionysus (§ 134), and 
there existed already in Athens the Flower Festival of 
the early spring (in February) and the Vintage Festival 
of the winter (in December). To these Pisistratus added 
another, the Great, or City, Dionysia (in April), at which 
he introduced the sacred play in which scenes in the life of 
the god were exhibited — the Tragedy or Goat-song. It 
is worth remembering that in 535 B.C. Thespis produced 
the first tragedy at Athens in connection with this festival. 
The theatre there was a part of religious worship. The 
foreign politics of Pisistratus were successful in making 
Athens a power in the Greek world. He controlled the 
approaches to the Hellespont and was in alliance with the 
Thessalians and with Argos. By his services to the sanct- 
uary of Apollo on the island of Delos, a favorite Ionian 
centre, he became a leader among the lonians of the 
iEgean. On his death (528 B.C.) he was succeeded 
without opposition by his son, Hip'pi-as, who ruled 
in close partnership with his younger brother, Hip- 
par'chus. 

161. Tyranny Overthrown. — But the tyranny was to 
have as short a life at Athens as it had enjoyed elsewhere 
(§ 140). The same reasons for its overthrow existed 
there. The first blow for liberty, however, was struck as a 
consequence of a private quarrel in which Hipparchus was 
assassinated by Harmodius and Ar-is-to-gei'ton. There- 
after Hippias, in fear of a like fate, ruled suspiciously and 
tyrannically. Exiled nobles, at their head the Alcmae- 
onidse, intrigued constantly against him, and on one oc- 
casion they tried to expel him from Athens by their own 
strength. Failing in this they turned to Sparta, whose 
league had now reached the frontiers of Attica, and by 



Cleisthenes 121 

the influence of the oracle at Delphi, which the Alcmae- 
onidse had won over by great generosity in the rebuilding 
of the temple of Apollo, this ambitious state was induced 
to send an army under King Cleomenes to drive Hippias 
out (510 B.C.). After he was gone the Spartans at- 
tempted to set up an aristocratic government, but after 
a struggle the Athenian people under the leadership of 
Cleisthenes, the head of the family of the Alcmaeonidas, 
a friend of the demos, was able to gain control of the 
state (508 B.C.). Cleisthenes immediately set about a Legislation 
reorganization of the state on the basis of the constitu- "heneT" 
tion of Solon with the purpose of correcting the defects 
and guarding against the dangers of the former legisla- 
tion. Two evils had not been met by the Solonian con- 
stitution — the people could not exercise the rights given 
them because of aristocratic influence, and parties based 
on local self-interest rent the state. To meet these diffi- 
culties Cleisthenes made some fundamental changes. He The New 
organized the people into ten tribes. Each tribe was De'^e^gf" 
made up of three parts taken by lot from each of the three 
local divisions of Attica, the upland, the plain and the 
coast, where dwelt respectively the peasants, the landed 
proprietors and the merchants. Thus all interests and 
all parties were likely to be represented in each tribe. The 
unit of each tribe was the deme, or township; to be a citi- 
zen.one must be enrolled in a deme; it elected Its officials, • 
who revised its list of citizen members from time to time 
and probably cared for the taxes. At the same time a 
large body of new citizens was created by the admission 
of strangers (metics) and freedmen resident in the land. 
The council (Boule) was increased to five hundred mem- 
bers, fifty from each tribe, chosen in the demes according 



122 Rise of Athens 

The to the number of citizens in each deme. The year was 

Prytany. (jiyided into ten parts, and each body of fifty senators pre- 
sided over pubhc business for a little over a month. As 
such it was called a prytany and was lodged and fed at 
the public expense during that time. Ten generals (strat- 
egoi) were chosen (501 B.C.), one from each tribe. The 
other ofhcials were appointed as before. A new device 
Ostracism, for guarding against tyranny was ostracism. Every year 
the citizens were given the privilege of voting as to whether 
any prominent man was dangerous to the state. If six 
thousand citizens voted, a majority of votes recorded 
against any one upon the pieces of tile {os'tra-ka) used for 
the purpose, compelled him to leave the state for ten 
years, though neither his property nor his citizen rights 
were lost. 

162. The Victory of Liberal Government at Athens. — • 
Thus Athens became a definitely constitutional state. 
Solon had established the citizen body in its political 
rights; Pisistratus had given the poor people opportunity 
to become self-supporting and respectable; Cleisthenes 
made it possible for the great middle class of farmers and 
merchants to use their power in the actual conduct of the 
state, and since the tyrant's guiding hand was now re- 
moved the ecclesia asserted its right henceforth to deter- 
mine for itself the chief questions of public policy. A nota- 
ble political experiment was now tried for the first time in 
history. The opportunity was soon to come in which it 
would be seen whether liberal government was equal to 
meeting the strain of war and suffering. The Persian 
war-cloud was hanging over the eastern horizon (§ 84). 
With its swift approach the era of Greek beginnings drew 
to its close (500 B.C.). 




'■■>»»:**' 



Sparta and Athens 123 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What is meant by deme, gerusia, 
prytany, Helot, Acropolis, Perioeci, Heliaea, Boule? 2. Who 
were Pheidon, Thespis, Dionysus, Cleomenes, Lycurgus? 3. 
Locate from memory on an outline map all the cities and 
countries mentioned in §§ 141-163. 4. What is the date of 
the Second Messenian War? of Solon? 5. What was the 
character of the conquest of Laconia by Sparta? 6. Describe 
the condition of the Helots and Perioeci. 7. What was the 
cause of the decay of Spartan culture? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES. Compare the manner in which 
Sparta built up her power in the Peloponnesus with the man- 
ner in which the eastern states built up their power (§§ 11- 15, 

37, 62-64). 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Cylon's Rebellion. Bury, pp. 
175-179. 2. The Cretan Constitution Compared with that 
of Sparta, pp. 136-139. 3. Sparta's Origin, Organization and 
Expansion. Bury, pp. 120-129. 4' Early History of Athens. 
Bury, pp. 163-180. 5. Solon's Constitution. Bury, ])p. 180-189. 

6. Pisistratus. Bury, pp. 192-202. 7. The Reforms of Cleis- 
thenes. Bury, pp. 210-215. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Story of 
Solon. Plutarch, Life of Solon. 2. Sparta's Beginnings and 

Organization. Moray, pp. 112-117; Botsford, pp. 27-29, 56-63; 
Shuckburgh, pp. 30-45; Zimmern, ch. 3. 3. Sparta's Expansion. 
Moray, pp. 118-120; Botsford, pp. 77-80. 4. Early History of 
Athens. Moray, pp. 120-125; Botsford, pp. 25-27, 41-48; Shuck- 
burgh, pp. 55-68. 5. Solon's Constitution. Moray, pp. 125- 
129; Shuckburgh, pp. 68-86; BoLsford, pp. 48-56. 6. Pisistratus. 
Moray, pp. 129-131; Botsford, pp. 70-77; Shuckburgh, pp. 81-88. 

7. The Reforms of Cleisthenes. Moray, pp. 131-134; Shuck- 
burgh, pp. 88-93; Botsford, pp. 81-86. 

163. Summary of the Period. — The beginnings of 
hfe in the ^Egean world are unknown. The oriental 
peoples were already far advanced in civilization when 
the first light breaks on this region. But by 2000 B.C. a 
high culture was produced in Crete under Egyptian in- 
fluence, probably by a pre- Greek people. About 1500 



124 Summary 

B.C. this culture was diffused over the yEgean world, 
modified in many respects, and possessed by the Greeks 
who had migrated into Greece from the north. This 
so-called Mycenaean age was brought to an. end by the 
descent of rude tribes from the north, which is called 
the Dorian migration. This cut off Greece from the 
outer world and set in motion new forces of political 
and social organization. Changes from tribal life to 
local settlement created the city-state and put at its head 
the aristocratic government. When the new-comers had 
adjusted themselves to their new homes, commerce began 
to revive on the shores of the yEgean. The cities on the 
Asia Minor coast came forward. New relations with the 
orient arose. Wealth gave leisure and opportunity for 
the new growth of literature and art and religion. Epic 
poetry reached its height in Homer. The Greeks began 
to know themselves as one people, the Hellenes, and to 
form their ideals of social, religious and political life. 
The Olympic gods (§ 112), the religious games (§ 128), 
the Delphic oracle, the amphictyonies, were signs of the 
times. Commerce led to a wide and enterprising colo- 
nial activity in the Mediterranean world. All this new 
life reacted upon the Greeks to produce (i) dissatisfac- 
tion with aristocratic rule, leading to the appointment 
of lawgivers, the appearance of tyrannies and the rise of 
constitutional government; and (2) larger relations with 
the outside world, particularly with the oriental empires 
now being rapidly merged into the Persian empire. 
Two states rose above the others as the age drew to an 
end. Sparta illustrates the tendency to maintain and 
harden the old tribal system with its equality and its 
military bent. It grew by conquest, until it occupied 



I 



S'parta and Athens 125 

two-fifths of the Peloponnesus and formed a political^ 
league embracing almost all the rest. Thus it was the 
leading Greek state. Athens went to the other extreme. 
Its lawgivers, Solon and Cleisthenes, led the way in the 
establishment of popular government. Pisistratus, the 
Athenian tyrant, gave the state a leading place among 
the commercial powers of the time. Thus by 500 B.C. 
the Greek world had reached a point at which, its polit- 
ical institutions fixed and its states firmly established, it 
was prepared to take its place and do its work in world 
poHtics. This place and work in the world were opened 
to it in the rapidly approaching complications with the 
Persian empire^ 

GENERAL REVIEW OF PART II, DIVISIONS I-IV 

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION, i. Trace the development 
of political institutions through the first three epochs of this 
period (§§ 98, 105-108, 114-115, 135-140). 2. Note the various 
stages in the development of literature and art in this period 
(§§94-95,98-99, 109, no, 119, 12S. 152, 160). 3. Show how the 
literature and art of each epoch corresponds to the political 
history of that epoch. 4. Give a history of the Greek king 
(§§ 98-99, 105, 106, 107, 137, 156). 5. Compare the history of 
Sparta and Athens as they were affected by the general politi- 
cal development of Greece (§§ 152-153, 157-162). 6. Trace the 
influence of commerce on the life of the Greeks during this 
period (§§ 97-98, 108, 113, 129, 135, 152, 158). 7. On what oc- 
casions during this period did the Greeks come into contact 
with outside peoples? Who were these peoples and what did 
the contact mean for Greece (§§ 91, 97, 103, 116, 117(75), 132)? 
8. Enumerate the influences (i) that kept the Greeks sepa- 
rate, and (2) that united them, during this period (§§ 87, 106, 
107, IIS, "9, 12S). 

MAP AND PICTURE EXERCISES, i. On an outline map of 
Greece place (i) the physical features of Greece, (2) the peo- 
ples and cities of the first epoch, (3) those of the second epoch, 
(4) those of the third epoch — using, if possible, different 
colored pencils or inks to distinguish the epochs — (5) then, with 



126 The Persiafi Peril 

the general map of Greece before you, note the peoples and 
cities which have not yet played a part in the history. 2. 
Compare the oriental scenes in Plates III, IV and VIII with the 
Greek scene found in Plates XIV and XV and make observa- 
tions from the point of view of grace, strength, simplicity, 
technical skill, etc. Compare, for further illustration, the 
plates in Tarbell, pp. 132, 137, 146, 151, 156. 

SUBJECTS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS, i. The Olympian Games. 

Bury, pp. 140-142; Grant, Greece in the Age of Pericles, pp. 
26-33; Duruy, History of Greece, II, pp. 378-394; Diehl, Excur- 
sions in Greece, ch. 7. 2. Greek Oracles, especially Delphi. 
Bury, pp. 159, 161; Grant, Greece in the Age of Pericles, pp. 20- 
26; Duruy, History of Greece, II, pp. 318-330. 3. Mycenaean 
Art. Tarbell, ch. 2; Bury, pp. 11-30; Tsountas and Manatt, 
Mycenaean Age, chs. 5, 9. 4. The Story of the Founding of a 
Greek Colony. Botsford, ch. 3; Bury, ch. 2; Duruy, History of 
Greece, II, pp. 165-173; Greenidge, pp. 36-45. 5. Write the 
story of the "Iliad" in a thousand words. Capps, pp. 22-74. 
6. Write the story of the " Odyssey " in the form of an auto- 
biography of Odysseus. Capps, pp. 75-110. 7. History of a 
Tyrant; Cleisthenes of Sicyon. Herodotus, V, 67-69; VI, 126- 
131; or, Polycrates of Samos. Herodotus, III, 40-47, 54-56, 
120-125. 8. The Legends of the Chief Gods of Greece. Grant, 
Greece in the Age of Pericles, pp. 12-18; Guerber, Myths of Greece 
and Rome; Fairbanks, Mythology of Greece and Rome. 9. Hera- 
cles and the Dorian Invasions. Bury, pp. 80-82; Duruy, History 
of Greece, I, pp. 273-281. 10. The Greek Temple. Mahaffy, 
Old Greek Life, pp. 19-24; Tarbell, ch. 3. 



5.— THE GREEK EMPIRES : ATHENIAN, 

SPARTAN, THEBAN AND 

MACEDONIAN 

500-336 B.C. 



164. The Menace of Persia. — The victory of Cyrus jj 
over Lydia (§75) had brought the Ionian cities under the u 
Persian power. This authority had been strengthened ]j 
and extended over the islands by succeeding rulers until 
practically the whole coast was subject. The Scythian 



i 



The Ionian Revolt 127 

expedition of King Darius (§ 84) had been followed by 
the extension of Persian authority throughout the north- 
ern ^gean, where a new satrapy was formed. It was 
clear that the Great King would not stop until all the 
Greek peninsula acknowledged his sceptre. Some Greek 
communities were already reconciled to this prospect and 
had sought the aid of Persia in the settlement of their 
difficulties. Among these were Thebes and Argos; the 
Delphic oracle steadily favored submission, and even 
Athens in the year 497 B.C. offered to do homage. It 
seemed that the lack of Greek unity, set over against 
the mighty centralized power of Persia, would make 
successful defence impossible. 

165. The Ionian Revolt. — But events beyond the con- The Greeks 
trol of the Greek states made a conflict unavoidable. ^^^'^'^• 
In 499 B.C. the Greek cities of Ionia under the leader- 
ship of Miletus rebelled against the Persians and sought 
help from Sparta and Athens. The former refused, but 
Athens sent twenty ships and Eretria five. 

The story of the rejection of the petition in Sparta is told by 
Herodotus as follows: 

" Ar-is-tag'o-ras spoke thus, and Cleomenes answered him saymg: 
'Guest-friend from Miletos, I defer my answer to thee till the day 
after to-morrow.' Thus far then they advanced at that time; and 
when the appointed day arrived for the answer, and they had come 
to the place agreed upon, Cleomenes asked Aristagoras how many 
days' journey it was from the sea of the lonians to the residence of 
the king. Now Aristagoras, who in other respects acted cleverly 
and imposed upon him well, in this point made a mistake; for whereas 
he ought not to have told him the truth, at least if he desired to bring 
the Spartans out to Asia, he said in fact that it was a journey up from 
the sea of three months; and the other cutting short the rest of the 
account which Aristagoras had begun to give of the way, said: 



128 



The Persian Peril 



Sparta Re- 
fuses to 
Help the 
lonians. 



'Guest-friend from Miletos, get thee away from Sparta before the 
sun has set; for thou speakest a word which sounds not well in the 
ears of the Lacedemonians, desiring to take them a journey of three 
months away from the sea.' Cleomenes, accordingly, having so 
said went away to his house; but Aristagoras took the suppliant's 
branch and went to the house of Cleomenes; and having entered 
in as a suppliant, he bade Cleomenes send away the child and listen 
to him; for the daughter of Cleomenes was standing by him, whose 
name was Gorgo, and this as it chanced was his only child, being of 
the age now of eight or nine years. Cleomenes, however, bade him 
say that which he desired to say, and not to stop on account of the 
child. Then Aristagoras proceeded to promise him money, beginning 
with ten talents, if he would accomplish for him that for which he 
was asking, and when Cleomenes refused, Aristagoras went on in- 
creasing the sums of money offered, until at last he had promised fifty 
talents, and at that moment the child cried out: 'Father, the stranger 
will do thee hurt, if thou do not leave him and go.' Cleomenes 
then, pleased by the counsel of the child, departed into another room, 
and Aristagoras went away from Sparta altogether, and had no fur- 
ther opportunity of explaining any further about the way up from 
the sea to the residence of the king." 



Battle of 
Lade. 



Destruction 
of Miletus. 



The allies opened the campaign by seizing and burning 
Sardis, the Persian capital of Asia Minor, but while re- 
turning to the coast they were defeated near Ephesus by 
the Persians; whereupon the Athenians abandoned the 
enterprise. A long and desperate struggle ensued. The 
decisive factor was the dissension which arose among the 
Greek cities and it was to this that the great defeat which 
they sustained in the naval battle of La'de (494 B.C.) was 
due. Even in the midst of the engagement the Sa- 
mians and Lesbians sailed away, abandoning their com- 
rades. Another disaster of appalling magnitude followed. 
Miletus — at that time the largest and most cultured city 
in the entire Greek world — was taken by storm and 



1 



Longitude East 2 




Marathon 129 

razed to the ground. Persia immediately set about pun- 
ishing the Greeks of the peninsula for their interference, 
while Sparta and Athens, with a boldness born rather of 
ignorance and assurance than of real knowledge, awaited 
the attack. The first expedition commanded by Mar- First Per- 
donius, the king's son-in-law, consisted of a land army pg^JJt^n' 
and a fleet. It started southward from the Persian pos- 
sessions on the north yEgean through Macedonia in 492 
B.C. But the fleet was shipwrecked off Mt. Athos and 
the expedition returned in disgrace. A second attack Second 
was made in 490 B.C. by a force which sailed straight Exp^edition. 
across the sea bound for Athens. It consisted of about 
20,000 men, chiefly foot-soldiers. After stopping at the 
island of Euboea and sacking Eretria, the army was 
landed on the Attic coast in the hill-girt plain of Mara- 
thon. The Athenian citizen force of 10,000 heavy armed 
men (hoplites), aided by 1,000 troops of the neighboring 
city of Pla-tae'a, occupied the heights through which the 
road passed before descending to the city. The ten 
strategoi, with the war archon at their head, were uncer- 
tain whether to meet the Persians there or to await them 
behind the walls of Athens. The Persians were equally 
in doubt as to what to do. Finally, after some days, the Miitiades. 
persuasions of one of the strategoi, Mil-ti'a-des, were suc- 
cessful in inducing the Athenians to remain. The Per- 
sians also decided to advance. On the decisive day the 
war archon handed over the chief command to Miitia- 
des. He extended his force until it equalled the Per- 
sian front, strengthening his wings at the expense of the 
centre, and hurled the army on a run against the ad- 
vancing Persians. The strategy was successful, for, while 
his centre was broken, the wings were victorious and 



130 



The Persian Peril 



Marathon. 



Temporary 
Check to 
Persia. 



closed in upon the Persians, who fled to their ships. The 
bows and arrows and light wicker shields of the Persians 
proved child's weapons against the spears and metal 
armor of the Greeks. Six thousand four hundred Per- 
sians were slain and seven ships were taken; of the Athe- 
nians one hundred and ninety-two fell. The rest of 
the enemy escaped upon the ships, and, after an attempt 
to surprise Athens while denuded of its defenders had 
been foiled by the rapid march home of the victors of 
Marathon, they, returned to Asia Minor. Two days 
after a Spartan force, for which the Athenians had 
despatched a swift messenger, arrived on the scene. 

1 66. Significance of the Victory.— The victory of 
Marathon had no effect upon the Persian king beyond 
making him more determined than ever to conquer 
Greece. To him it was only a temporary check; a small " 
force had been defeated in a somewhat rash enterprise. 
For the Greeks, however, the victory meant everything, 
now at last they had no fear of Persia and were ready 
to meet any attack however formidable. To Athens 
especially it was most significant. At one bound she 
sprang to the front as the defender of Greek freedom. 
Miltiades shared in the glory and became the first citizen 
of the state. Under his leadership a fleet was sent out 
against the island of Pa'ros. 

167. The Ten Years' Respite. — The Persians were 
delayed ten years before attacking again. While Darius 
was making his preparations, the province of Egypt re- 
belled (486 B.C.). ■ He himself died the next year and was 
succeeded by his son Xerxes. During this time impor- 
tant changes were taking place in the political situation 
at Athens. A failure of Miltiades in his naval expedition 



Policy of Theumtocles 131 

brought him into disgrace with the Athenians; he died 
while under condemnation by the people. The demo- Democratic 
cratic movement was greatly aided by a change in the ^^^,^^^1^ ^' 
constitution by which the archons were appointed by lot 
(487 B.C.). In this arrangement those who had hitherto 
been the chief administrative officers of the state were 
henceforth men of mere average attainment. Hence the 
people found new leaders in the strategoi (§ 161) who" 
were still elected, not chosen by lot. It was arranged 
that henceforth, while nine strategoi were elected by the 
tribes, one, the chief strategos, should be chosen by all 
the people. To this position, therefore, the chief man The Leader 
(the demagogue, "leader of the demos") in the state, ^g^^^s. 
was usually elected, and the archons fell into obscurity. 
168. Aristides and Themistocles.— Under this arrange- 
ment two men came prominently forward with very dif- 
ferent political ideas. Aristides, a man of exceptionally 
high character, thought the safety of Athens and her great- 
ness lay in emphasizing the importance of her heavy armed 
citizen soldiery that had won the battle of Marathon. 
Themistocles, the opposing statesman, claimed that there Policy of 
was no hope of deliverance except in the creation of a tocl^!^' 
naval force which could meet the Persians on the sea and 
beat them off. He urged also a commercial policy as the 
true source of wealth and progress for Athens. When 
in 493 B.C. Themistocles had been archon, he had in- 
duced the Athenians to change their harbor to the roomy 
and protected bay of the Pi-ras'us, and now he urged his 
naval policy more vigorously. He persuaded the people 
to devote the income of their silver mines on the promon- 
tory of Laurium, usually distributed among the citizens, 
to the building of the navy. Opposition was overthrown 



132 



The Persian Peril 



by the "ostracism" of Aristides in 482 B.C., and in 480 
B.C. a fleet of nearly two hundred triremes was ready. 
This step was one of the most important ever taken by 
Athens. It marked out her future career. Had Aris- 
tides won, Athens would have remained a state in which 
the landholders and the people of property, who made 
up the citizen army, would have been the chief element in 
the state. The new policy turned Athens toward the sea. 
It brought into prominence and importance the mer- 
chants and tradesmen; the mass of the poor and landless 
people, hitherto without influence in the state, were made 
as necessary for the fleet as the hoplites for the army. 
Hence, the policy was a step forward toward true democ- 
racy within the state and toward giving Athens a leading 
place in the greater world without. 

169. The Expedition of Xerxes. — The preparations 
of Xerxes for the invasion of Greece were begun by 483 
B.C. The plan adopted was the same as that of 492 B.C. 
(^ 165). To avoid the dangers of shipwreck off Mt. 
Athos a canal was cut through the peninsula on which 
it stood. Bridges were thrown across the streams and 
magazines of stores were established. An army and a 
fleet, which represented the full strength of the empire, 
were collected. Xerxes himself took the command. The 
Greeks estimated the total size of the army at some- 
thing short of two millions. A very conservative esti- 
mate makes the number of first-class fighting men, ex- 
clusive of camp-followers, about one hundred thousand. 
The fleet numbered about a thousand ships, great and 
small. In the spring of 480 B.C. the Hellespont was 
crossed, and by July the fleet and the army were moving 
southward to the borders of Thessaly. 



Disloyalty of the Oracle 133 

170. Dark Outlook for the Greeks. — The outlook for 
the Greeks was dark. To the demand for submission 
which Xerxes had made, through heralds sent up and 
down the land, a number of states had yielded. The 
Thessalian nobles, Thebes and the Boeotian cities under 
her influence, Argos and some lesser tribes, were either 
openly or secretly on the Persian side. The oracle of 
Delphi had lost all hope and its utterances in response 
to anxious inquiries from the different states were gloomy 
and discouraging. 

Its attitude is explained by Herodotus in the following passage: 

"For the Athenians had sent men to Delphi to inquire and were TheUn- 

preparing to consult the Oracle; and after these had performed the Patriotic 
, • • , 1 • , , , 1 , , Counsel 

usual rites m the sacred precmcts, when they had entered the sanct- of Delphi. 

uary and were sitting down there, the Pythian prophetess, whose 

name was Aristonike, uttered to them this oracle: 

" 'Why do ye sit, O ye wretched? Flee thou to the uttermost limits, 
Leaving thy home and the heights of the wheel-round city behind 

thee! 
Lo, there remaineth now nor the head nor the body in safety, — 
Neither the feet below nor the hands nor the middle are left thee, — 
All are destroyed together; for fire and the passionate War-god, 
Urging the Syrian car to speed, doth hurl them to ruin. 
Not thine alone, he shall cause many more great strongholds to perish, 
Yea, many temples of gods to the ravening fire shall deliver, — 
Temples which stand now surely with sweat of their terror down- 
streaming. 
Quaking with dread; and lo! from the topmost roof to the pavement 
Dark blood trickles, forecasting the dire unavoidable evil. 
Forth with you, forth from the shrine, and steep your soul in the 
sorrow ! ' 

"Hearing this the men who had been sent by the Athenians to con- 
sult the Oracle were very greatly distressed; and as they were de- 
spairing by reason of the evil which had been prophesied to them, 



134 



The Persian Peril 



Timon the son of Androbulos, a man of the Delphians in reputation 
equal to the first, counselled them to take a suppliant's bough and to 
approach the second time and consult the Oracle as suppliants. The 
Athenians did as he advised and said: "Lord, we pray thee utter 
to us some better oracle about our native land, having respect to these 
suppliant boughs which we have come to thee bearing; otherwise 
surely we will not depart from the sanctuary, but will remain here 
where we are now, even until we bring our lives to an end." When 
they had spoken these words, the prophetess gave them a second 
oracle as follows: 



" 'Pallas cannot prevail to appease great Zeus in Olympos, 
Though she with words very many and wiles close-woven entreat him. 
But I will tell thee this more, and will clench it with steel adamantine: 
Then when all else shall be taken, whatever the boundary of Kekrops 
Holdeth within, and the dark ravines of divinest Kithairon, 
A bulwark of wood at the last Zeus grants to the Trito-born goddess 
Sole to remain unwasted, which thee and thy children shall profit. 
Stay thou not there for the horsemen to come and the footmen un- 
numbered; 
Stay thou not still for the host from the mainland to come, but re- 
tire thee, 
Turning thy back to the foe, for yet thou shalt face him hereafter. 
Salamis, thou the divine, thou shall cause sons of women to perish. 
Or when the grain is scattered or when it is gathered together.' " 

A council of the states that proposed to offer resist- 
ance met at Corinth. The Peloponnesian league under 
Sparta's headship was naturally the chief power; Athens 
and other states loyally accepted her leadership. The 
council agreed that in the face of the pressing danger all 
feuds between Greek states should cease and a general 
invitation was extended to all to unite for defence. A 
special request for help was sent to Gelon, tyrant of 
Syracuse, who ruled over the cities of Sicily and possessed 
military resources beyond those of any other state in the 



Thermojiylos 135 

Greek world. But Xerxes had made an alliance with 
Carthage (§§ 52, 117), whereby she was to attack the 
Greeks of Sicily. He gained thereby a valuable ally. For carthage 
Carthage had now drawn under her control all the Phceni- ^.°'"^ ^^'' 
cian settlements in the west, and, having possession of 
western Sicily, Sardinia, the coast of Spain and North 
Africa, she had succeeded in converting the sea which they 
enclosed into a Carthaginian lake. Within these waters 
she had established a commercial monopoly and had 
drawn from it fabulous wealth. This enabled her to main- 
tain a powerful fleet and, whenever she wished, to take into 
her employ a host of mercenary troops. She now ad- 
vanced to the conc[uest of all Sicily. Gelon was, therefore, 
unable to render assistance even if he had been willing to 
do so. The plan of campaign proposed to the council The Greek 
of Corinth by Themistocles was adopted; it was simple clmp°a^ign 
and masterly. On land, where the Persian army was 
so much larger, a battle was to be avoided as long as 
possible; a naval battle was to be sought as soon as 
possible, for on the sea the opposing forces were more 
nearly equal. It was thought that, if the Persian fleet 
were destroyed, the army of the Great King would not be 
able to remain in Greece. Having made these prepara- 
tions, full of heroic courage and undaunted purpose, the 
representatives of the various states separated and the 
conflict began. 

171, Thermopylsg. — In accordance with the plan, a 
small force was sent forward to block the enemy's ad- 
vance at the northern mountain border of Thessaly. It 
was found, however, that there were too many passes 
through the mountains .to make a defence possible at this 
point, and, abandoning Thessaly, the Greek force took 



136 The Persian Peril 

its stand on the heights south of the Thessalian plain. 
Here the narrow and easily defended pass of Ther-mop'y- 
la; forms the only entrance into middle Greece. The 
Greeks were under the command of the Spartan king 
Le-on'i-das and consisted of about seven thousand men, 
the kernel of which was a corps of three hundred Spartans. 
Xerxes occupied Thessaly without opposition, and by 
August, 480 B.C., advanced to Thermopylae to force the 
pass. The battle raged for two days, the flower of the 
Persians attacking the Greeks in the narrow defile in 
vain. On the third day, a troop was sent around on the 
heights above the pass, and the battle was renewed from 
front and rear. Retreat had been possible earlier and 
the bulk of the defenders had retired, but Leonidas and 
his Spartans remained and at last perished, overpowered 
by numbers. After the war was over, a monument was 
raised upon the hillock where the last stand was made, 
a lion carved in stone with the inscription: 

Stranger, report this word, we pray, to the Spartans, that lying 
here in this spot we remain, faithfully keeping their laws. 

172. The Greek Fleet. — Meanwhile the Persian fleet, 
sailing southward, had encountered a storm which de- 
troyed some four hundred ships. The remainder, still 
a formidable host, advanced to the Pag'a-sae'an gulf. The 
Greek fleet was gathered at Artemisium on the north 
of Euboea. Several encounters took place without de- 
cisive result, when the news of Thermopylae decided the 
Greeks to withdraw to the Saronic gulf. The results 
thus far were distinctly unfavorable to the Greeks. The 
defeat of Thermopylae opened middle Greece to the 
Persians, while the Greek fleet had not gained any com- 



Salamis 



137 



pensating advantage. The decisive struggle still to come 
was transferred now to the very heart of the peninsula, 

173. Salamis. — Xerxes moved down into Boeotia and 
took possession of the whole middle region. The Greeks 
still pursuing their original plan, offered no resistance, 
but awaited the Persians at the isthmus of Corinth, 
where they built a wall from one side to the other and 




stationed the Peloponnesian army under the command of 
Cle-om'bro-tus of Sparta, brother of Leonidas. Athens, Athenians 

, . • 1 1 • Abandon 

therefore, was quite unprotected, and measures were im- Attka. 
mediately taken for abandoning the country and trans- 
porting the inhabitants to Salamis, /Egina and the Pelo- 
ponnesus. Soon the Persians came down and occupied 
the city. The Greek fleet of about three hundred ships 
was now drawn up between Salamis and the Attic shore. 
There was great uncertainty among the commanders 



138 The Persian Peril 

whether to fight the oncoming Persian fleet then and 
there, or to retreat to the Peloponnesian shore in order 
to keep in touch with the army. Themistocles, who de- 
sired a battle where the Greeks then were, sent a mes- 
senger to Xerxes to warn him of the intended flight of the 
Greeks. The Persian king immediately sent two hun- 
dred Egyptian vessels to block up the western outlets, 
while the main fleet was stationed in front of the Greeks 
on the eastern side of the island. When the news was 
brought by Aristides, who had been recalled from exile, 
that the western passage was occupied, the Greeks saw 
themselves forced to give battle. It was well for them 
that the battle was fought here, for, in the narrow straits, 
their lighter ships and smaller numbers counted for 
much more, while the larger Persian fleet was crowded 
Defeat of and hampered. About the 28th of September, 480 B.C., 
Fi^etf'^ the fight began at break of day, and by night the Per- 
sians were completely beaten. Xerxes, whose throne had 
been set up on the slope of Mt. ^-ga'le-os, witnessed the 
discomfiture of his navy. The next morning the remain- 
ing ships bore away to the eastward and disappeared. 

174. Effect of the Battle. — Salamis was the first of the 
battles with Persia that can properly be called a deci- 
sive victory. Its consequences appeared at once. The 
Greeks were now masters of the sea. The Persian army, 
without the support of a fleet, and in an enemy's country, 
must depend upon itself for support and success. A 
defeat would be ruin. Moreover, should the Greeks sail 
to the Hellespont, they could cut Xerxes's communica- 
tions with his own land, stir up the Ionian cities to rebel- 
lion and force the Persian army to return home. That 
was precisely what Themistocles desired the fleet to do 



osure 



PlatcEa 139 

immediately after the battle, but the other commanders Expi 
were unwilling to venture so far away from home. Xerxes °q^^^^^_ 
was not slow in grasping the situation. He decided to tack, 
go back at once to Asia, leaving Mardonius with the bulk 
of the army to push forward the campaign next year. 

175. Platfiea. — The Persian army withdrew from At- 
tica and went into winter quarters in Bceotia. The Athe- 
nians returned to their fields and rebuilt their homes. 
As spring (479 B.C.) came on, however, it was clear that 
unless the Peloponnesians advanced beyond the isthmus, 
Attica would again be laid waste by the Persians. But Athens 
in spite of the appeals of the Athenians, the Spartans ^^ ^°^^ " 
failed to move, and Athens again abandoned was burned 
to the ground. Only the threat of the Athenians that 
they would make peace with Mardonius, who had given 
them all kinds of promises, forced the advance of the 
Peloponnesians. As they came out of the isthmus, the 
Persians retired from Attica and took up a position in 
the vicinity of Platasa. Mardonius was said with gross 
exaggeration to have an army of three hundred thousand 
men, well organized and equipped, and might reasonably 
hope for victory over the Greeks. They were numbered 
at about one hundred thousand men, drawn from the va- 
rious Peloponnesian states and from Athens, under the 
command of Pausanias, the Spartan. The two opponents 
manoeuvred for some days before Platsea, both sides be- 
ing unwilling to lose the advantage of a defensive posi- 
tion. Finally, however, having caught Pausanias in the 
midst of a movement to change his base of operations, 
Mardonius hurled his finest troops upon the Spartan 
force. But the Spartans maintained their steadiness 
and discipline in the face of the enemy until ordered 



140 



The Persian Peril 



Defeat of 

Persian 

Army. 



Defeat of 
Carthage. 



Attack on 
Asia. 



to charge. As at Marathon, so here, the onset of the 
hophtes was irresistible. They tore the opposing Per- 
sian force in pieces; Mardonius was killed; the Persian 
camp stormed. The Persian general, Ar-ta-ba'zus, suc- 
ceeded in getting away into Asia with less than a fifth of 
the army. Thus, as Herodotus said, "was gained by 
Pausanias the most famous victory of all those about 
which we have knowledge." 

176. Himera and Mycale. — During these years two 
other battles were fought which completed the discom- 
fiture of the Persians. In the west, Gelon of Syracuse 
(§ 170), who was attacked by the Carthaginians in alliance 
with Persia, defeated them decisively in the battle of 
Him'e-ra (480 B.C.), said to have been fought on the very 
day of Salamis.* The Greek fleet, which had been in- 
active since the victory of Salamis, sailed in 479 B.C. over 
to Asia Minor, where the remnant of the Persian fleet was 
protecting the coast. On the approach of the Greeks 
the enemy's fleet was drawn up under protection of the 
army, on the shore of the promontory of Myc'a-le. Here 
the Greeks attacked them and won a complete victory 
(479 B.C.) and thus gained control of the Ionian coast. 
Not a Persian ship was to be found on the ^gean sea. 
After capturing the city of Sestos, one of the keys to the 
Hellespont, the fleet returned to Greece. 



* Gelon's chief ally in this war was Theron of Ac'ra-gas. Under the 
rule of these two tyrants and that of Hi'e-ron, who succeeded his brother 
Gelon in 478 B.C., Sicily enjoyed a period of great power and prosperity. 
There was no more brilliant society in the world than that of the two 
island courts. To them went the most distinguished poets of the eastern 
cities, Pindar and ^Es'chy-lus (§179), Si-mon'i-des and Bac-chyl'i-des. 
The greatest exploit of Hieron was the destruction of the Etruscan mari- 
time power by his naval victory at Cyme in 474 B.C. 





w 


'^^ 


m^ 


wmk 


»3^ 


_^ i 



Results of Victory 141 

177. Reasons for Greek Success. — Thus closed the 
critical years which resulted in warding off the Persian 
attack and triumphantly defending the independence of 
Greece. How it was all achieved, the Greeks themselves 
hardly knew. We sec that (i) the Greek infantry with 
its long spears was more than a match for the Persian 
foot-soldiers with their bows, (2) the seamanship of the 
Greeks was better than that of the Persians, while (3) 
the strongest part of the Persian army, the cavalry, had 
no chance in the narrow valleys and mountain passes 
of Greece. (4) The union of the Greeks, limited and 
defective as it was, and (5) the consummate statesman- 
ship of Themistocles, in creating and enlarging the navy 
of Athens and emphasizing the importance of the con- 
trol of the sea, had no small part in securing victory. 

178. Twofold Result of the Struggle.— The result of Greece the 
the conflict may be said to have been twofold. First, powerln 
it emphasized and glorified all those elements of Greek tiieWorid. 
life which the past centuries had been building up — the 
consciousness of Greek unity in the face of the outside 
world, the sentiments of independence, of patriotism 

and of freedom that had come to be the life of every 
Greek community. Second, it made Greece a world- 
power, transferred political supremacy from the east to 
the west and created among the leading Greek states 
aspirations after wider political influence and authority 
for which opportunities opened on every side. 

179. The Literary Echo. — Two poets of the time re- 
vealed this sense of the power and glory of victorious 
Greece. Pindar, of Boeotia (about 522-448 B.C.), might- Pindar, 
iest of the lyric poets (§ 130), gained his chief fame by 

his choral Odes, glorifying the victors in the national 



142 The Persian Peril 

games (§ 128). They were sung by a chorus of dancers 
on the return of the hero to his native city. In them he 
celebrated all those characteristic qualities which the 
Greek revealed in the Persian struggle — his manly vigor, 
his love of beauty, his deep piety, his heroic temper, his 
joy in his splendid past, his freedom and moral inde- 
pendence, his serene faith in the higher powers, un- 
troubled by doubt or fear, ^schylus (about 525-456 
B.C.), the tragedian of Athens, himself fought at Mara- 
thon and Salamis, , and celebrated the victories in his 
PerscB, a tragedy brought out In 472 B.C., in which he de- 
picts the doom of the arrogant king who sets himself up 
^schyius. against the Almighty. iEschylus was the real founder 
of tragedy; he introduced the novelty of having two 
actors and a chorus, thus securing effective dramatic 
action. In his plays he uses the mythical and legendary 
tales of the heroes of old; Pro-me'theus, Agamemnon, the 
Seven against Thebes, are some of his titles. He is the 
poet-preacher of righteousness, of the punishment of 
pride, of the supremacy of moral law over all beings, 
divine and human, of the inevitable payment for sin 
wherever committed. He moves in a superhuman world 
of grand, heroic, sinful, suffering beings over whom 
hangs the penality of violated right and truth. The 
gods, who are jealous of the overweening might of the 
Great King and have brought him to ruin, are on the 
watch to avenge themselves upon such a spirit every- 
where. So he warned, while he uplifted, the souls of his 
generation, and spoke words that live forever. 

180. The Birth of Greek Imperialism. — We have seen 
that the Greek states assumed new political importance 
in the world as the result of their victory. This was 



The Persia7i Peril 143 

certain to transform Greek politics. Not the petty Greek 
communities, but only the leaders could enter into the 
race for world-power. In the struggle of these leaders 
with each other could Greek unity be preserved or Greek 
independence be maintained ? These were the problems 
that sprang up when the fight for freedom from Persian 
supremacy was won. Thus it came to pass that Greek 
imperialism was the child of the Persian Wars. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following noted: 
Persepolis, Miletus, Marathon, Laurium, Mt. Athos, Helles- 
pont, Plataea, Mycale, Himera? 2. Who were Mardonius, 
Cyrus, ^schylus, Leonidas, Gelon, Aristides? 3. What is 
meant by tragedy, strategos, lyric poetry, mythical, legendary, 
imperialism, ostracism? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the attitude of the Lyd- 
ians and the Persians toward the Ionian cities (§ 117). 2. 
Compare the growth of the Persian empire (§§ 74, 75, 81. 84) 
with that of the Greek states. 3. Compare the relation of 
the Persian armies to the Persian government (§ 81) with 
that of the Greek armies toward their governments. 4. Plan 
an attack on Greece by Persia and the Greek means of resist- 
ance to the attack. 5, Read Browning's "Echetlos" as an 
interpretation of Greek spirit. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Ionian Revolt. Bury, pp. 
241-247. 2. The Campaign of Marathon. Bury, pp. 247-257. 
3. Themistocles and His Policy. Bury, pp. 263-264. 4. The 
Campaign of Xerxes. Bury, pp. 265-296. 5. Sicily in the Per- 
sian Wars. Bury, pp. 296-304. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Ionian 

Revolt. Morey, pp. 174-176; Botsford, pp. 110-115; Shuck- 
burgh, pp. 111-123. 2. The Campaign of Marathon, Shuck- 
burgh, pp. 128-136; Zimmern, pp. 141-147. 3. Themistocles 
and His Policy. Plutarch, Life of Themistocles; Botsford, pp. 
124-126; Morey, pp. 181-184; Shuckburgh, pp. 138-142. 4. 
The Campaign of Xerxes. Botsford, pp. 127-136; Morey, pp. 
184-192; Shuckburgh, pp. 142-171; Zimmern, pp. 14S-191. 5. 



144 Rivalry of Athens and Sparta 



Athens the 
Rival of 
Sparta. 



Incidents of the Battle of Salamis. Herodotus, VIII, §§ 40- 
42, 49-96. 6. ^schylus. Capps, ch. 8; jebb, pp. 73-83; Mur- 
ray, pp. 109-116. 7. Sicily in the Persian Wars. Botsford, pp. 

136-139- 

181. The Maritime Power oL Athens. — Out of the 

struggle against the Persian invaders two Greek powers 
came forth to reap tlie fruits of victory. Sparta, as the 
head of the Peloponnesian league, had been officially 
recognized as the leader in the conflict; but the heroic, 
determined and far-sighted activities of Athens during 
the wars had given her a foremost place in the estima- 
tion of all patriotic Greeks. Hence, the coming years 
reveal her as the rival of Sparta for the headship among 
the Greek states. 



Predica- 
ment of 
Sparta. 



Herodotus testifies to the service of Athens in the great struggle 
as follows: "If a man should now say that the Athenians were the 
saviors of Greece, he would not exceed the truth. For they truly 
held the scales; and whichever side they espoused must have carried 
the day. They, too, it was who, when they had determined to main- 
tain the freedom of Greece, roused up that portion of the Greek 
nation which had not gone over to the Medes; and so, next to the 
gods, they repulsed the invader." 

182. Sparta Loses Naval Command to Athens. — The 

first task which awaited the victors was to drive the Per- 
sians from the coasts of the yEgean sea and deliver the 
Asiatic Greeks from Persian domination. The Greek 
fleet under the Spartan king Pausanias (§ 175) under- 
took this task. That, as things were, it must prove too 
great an undertaking for a state like Sparta with not 
more than four thousand citizens, who, moreover, lacked 
money, ships and maritime experience, and had, besides, 
to stand on guard at home against a serf population of 



The Delian Confederacy 145 

sixty thousand males, was foreseen by both Pausanias 
and the authorities at home; but whereas the latter were 
loath to conduct naval operations in far distant Asia, 
the over-ambitious victor of Platasa was set on keeping 
his own country at the head of all Greek enterprises, 
even though to do so he must secure the assistance of 
Persia. He accordingly offered his services to the Great 
King as satrap of Greece and conducted himself as the 
master and not as the leader of the forces serving under his 
command. His arrogance together with the indifference of 
the ruling powers at Sparta, however, provoked a prompt 
reaction which resulted in the transference of the lead- 
ership to the Athenians under Aristides (§ i68). They 
had by far the largest number of ships and hence an irre- 
sistible claim to naval command. The work was brill- 
iantly accomplished. With the exception of a few iso- 
lated cities, the Greek settlements on the entire ^gean 
coast and in the eastern Mediterranean as far as Cyprus 
were made free. 

183. The Delian Confederacy Formed. — It was clear, 
however, that this freedom could be maintained only 
by presenting a united front to the enemy. Hence, 
a new league sprang into being under the headship of 
Athens — a league of the i^^gean cities. Large and small 
alike, they banded together to furnish a fleet for defence 
and offence against Persia (478 b.c). Those who were 
unable or unwilling to furnish ships contributed yearly 
a sum of money. The amount of the contribution in Aristides 
each case was left to Aristides to determine, according 
to his judgment of the resources of each city. The 
pre-eminence of Athens was also recognized by giving 
her the command of the united fleet and by arranging 



the Just. 



146 Rivalry of Athens and Sparta 

that the yearly contributions should be collected by her. 
The total sum assessed upon the cities amounted to four 
hundred and sixty talents. The money was placed in 
the sanctuary of Apollo on the island of Delos. There 
the representatives of the various cities met to deliberate 
upon common interests. Hence the league received the 
name of the Delian Confederacy. 

184. Athens Rebuilt. — Meanwhile the Athenians at 
home under the guidance of Themistocles were making 
rapid strides forward. He saw clearly into the political 
situation — the opportunity for Athens to take its place at 
the head of the Greek world. If Aristides was the active 
agent of the advance of the city abroad, he supplied the 
vital energy for the forward movement. Under his in- 
spiration Athens rose again from her ruins larger than 

Themis- before and was surrounded by a strong wall. The 
statesman. Spartans, wishiug to have Athens defenceless, tried to 
prevent the building of the wall, but Themistocles, going 
to Sparta, deceived them by a clever ruse * until the 
wall had reached such a height that interference was im- 
possible. The Piraeus, the port of Athens, was fortified 
and its harbors protected by moles. Some years after- 
ward (458 B.C.) the city and the port were joined by Long 
Walls, a device which freed Athens from fear of assault 
by land and gave her unhindered access to the sea. 
Thus she became independent of Spartan interference 
and was able to direct all her energies to establishing her 
maritime supremacy. 

185. The New Commercial Situation. — ^The revival 
and extension of Greek commerce assisted in bring- 
ing about Athenian predominance. .With the driving of 

* See Thucydides, I, go/. 



The Atlienian Empire 147 

the Persians from the ^gean and — it might almost be 
added — from the Mediterranean, the sea-trade, already 
in Greek hands, increased enormously. It was natural 
that the bulk of this trade should centre about Athens. 
The cities of the Asia Minor coast were cut off from 
trading with the interior because of the hostihty of Persia. 
The other towns on the ^gean were small. All were 
inclined to follow the lead of Athens in commercial as in 
political matters. Thus the immense increase of Greek Commerce 
commerce contributed to her upbuilding. She became Athens, 
the chief mart where ships gathered from the entire 
Greek world. The only formidable rival was Corinth, 
whose connections with the west were many and close. 
Athens's commercial supremacy naturally opened the way 
for her political predominance. She made many com- Political 
mercial treaties with her allies, an important condition Ath^ns^in" 
of which was that a great many of the difi&culties rising *^^ c°°- 
out of trade should be adjusted in the Athenian law- 
courts in accordance with Athenian law. From this it 
was natural to go on to require that other disagreements 
should follow the same course, until finally the majority 
of the cases at law among the members of the league 
were tried at Athens. The advantages of this system 
were great. One code, and that the best in all Greece, 
was extended over many communities whose sense of 
justice had not become so fine and high as that of Athens. 
Yet it meant for them the giving up to Athens of one of 
the sovereign powers of the state — the administration of 
justice — and placed Athens in a position in which she 
became greater than a mere ally. 

1 86. Development of Athens into an Imperial State. 
— Other things tended to push her forward. The Per- 



148 Rivalry of Athens and Sparta 

sians were not able to make head against so formidable 
a league and ceased to attempt opposition. Hence, as 
fear of their attacks lessened, the allies began to feel 
that union for defence against them was not so necessary. 
The yearly contributions were made more grudgingly. 
Athens Some citics were even desirous of withdrawing. But 
Rrhfto Athens held rightly that as the union of states had brought 
Secede. about this Condition of safety, so only a continuance of 
the union could maintain it; hence, that states delinquent 
in their contributions should be forced to pay and those 
who attempted to withdraw should be compelled to 
remain. Thus, when Naxos rebelled in 467 B.C. and 
Tha'sos in 465 B.C., they were reduced to subjection by 
the Athenian fleet. The Delian Confederacy was fast be- 
coming an Athenian imperial state. 

187. Fall of Pausanias and Themistocles. — Naturally, 
Sparta had regarded the rise of Athens with disfavor, and 
recognizing Themistocles as its author, desired his down- 
fall. Through his diplomacy her opposition to the build- 
ing of the fortifications of Athens (§ 184) had amounted to 
nothing. She had been unable to make much headway 
because of troubles at home occasioned by the ambition of 
King Pausanias. He recklessly aimed at making himself 
lord of Sparta and thereby of all Greece. He had entered 
into treasonable correspondence with the Persians: now 
he intrigued with the Helots (§ 143) to induce them to 
Rise of rebel. At Athens, moreover, the influence of Themis- 
tocles began to wane before that of Cimon, the son of 
Miltiades, the hero of Marathon. He was a high-born, 
rich, genial, successful general who had succeeded Aris- 
tides in the command of the Athenian fleet. He was no 
far-seeing statesman like Themistocles, but, for that very 



Cimon. 



Growth of' Democracy 149 

reason, was nearer the majority who failed to follow the 
greater leader in his radical plans for Athenian empire. 
Cimon's policy was conservative. He favored continuing 
war on Persia and renewing friendship with Sparta. In 
the end Themistocles was ostracized (471 B.C.). Later, 
when the Spartans got rid of their difficulties with Pausa- 
nias by putting him to death, they claimed to find evidence 
in his papers that Themistocles had joined in his trea- 
sonable plans. The exile was forced to find refuge with 
the Persians, where he died some years after. Cimon's cimon, 
leadership of Athens was marked by a splendid victory Athens 
over the Persians at the Eu-rym'e-don (466 B.C.) and by ^ ^° "^^^ 
his bringing aid to the Spartans in their struggles with 
the Helots of Messenia who had taken advantage of an 
earthquake at Sparta to try again to regain their liberty 
(§ 146). But the Spartans discourteously discharged the 
troops which he had brought to help them in their siege of 
Ttho'me, where the Helots had entrenched themselves, 
and he returned in disgrace. 

188. Democracy Popular in the Greek World.— An- 
other cause of Sparta's suspicion of Athens, besides that 
occasioned by her sudden rise to power, was the influ- 
ence of her democratic constitution. Her vigor and hero- 
ism in the Persian struggle had rightly been attributed 
to her democratic spirit, and, along with her advance- 
ment, democratic ideas and institutions had begun to be 
popular elsewhere. When the Ionian cities were freed 
from the Persian yoke, they set up democratic govern- 
ments. The impulse spread to the Peloponnesus, where 
Argos, Arcadia and Elis became democratic. In the far 
west the cities of Sicily followed the same example; Syra- 
cuse established a democracv on the death of the tvrant 



150 Rivalry of Athens and Sparta 

Hieron (467 B.C.), the successor of Gelon (§ 176). In al- 
most every city of Greece, even in aristocratic states like 
those of Boeotia, a democratic party appeared which fol- 
lowed in the footsteps of Athens and looked to her for 
support. It was not strange that Sparta, which had been 
steadily growing more aristocratic as her pure-blooded 
Spartan citizens grew fewer and fewer in number, should 
view this state of things with increasing uneasiness, and 
take a firmer stand in favor of oligarchy against democ- 
racy in general, and especially against Athens, its exem- 
plar. 

189. Growth of Democracy at Athens. — During these 
years the government at Athens was coming more and 
more into the hands of the people. The provisions of 
the constitutions of Solon and Cleisthenes (§§ 159, 161) 
were broadened or changed in their interest. But the 
council of the Areopagus (§156), by possessing the 
sole right to pass upon the legality of acts and proposi- 
tions and to supervise the magistrates, was a check to 
their power in public assembly and law-courts. Its 
organization out of a special class of ex-officials and 
its self-perpetuating character were likewise inconsistent 
with popular government. Hence, new leaders of the de- 
mocracy, Eph-i-al'tes and Pericles, induced the people to 
pass a law which deprived it of these powers (462 B.C.). 
This was in direct opposition to the pohcy of the con- 
servatives under Cimon, and the victory of the democ- 
racy, aided by the failure of his Spartan policy (§ 187), 
was followed by his ostracism (461 B.C.). The powers 
taken from the Areopagus were divided between the coun- 
cil of five hundred (§§ 159, 161), theheliaea (§ 159) and the 
public assembly. To the Areopagus was left simply the 



Athenian JDemocracy 151 

trial of murder cases. A little later, in 457 B.C., the office Fail of the 
of archon was opened to the less wealthy citizens, the "°p*^^^- 
zeugitse (§ 159), and from this time on few differences in 
respect to political privileges or opportunities separated 
the rich from the poor, the noble from the ignoble. 

190. The Athenian Council (Boule). — In general, the 
government was undertaken by the citizens themselves 
in public assembly (ec-cle'si-a). The ecclesia imposed 
certain limitations upon its own activity. All measures, 
whether dealing with foreign affairs or simply administra- 
tive acts, must first pass through the council and be pre- 
sented by it to the ecclesia. The council, however, was as a Mima- 
close a miniature of the ecclesia as could possibly be con- ;^cie°sia. ^ 
structed. It consisted of 500 men designated by lot from 

the entire population of Attica (§ 161), each of the 170 
villages or wards (demes) being given the number of rep- 
resentatives to which its population entitled it. Accord- 
ingly, all interests and localities could get their desires 
known in the council. This served, therefore, to admit 
all popular measures and yet to provide the ecclesia with 
a programme of business which did not contain a lot of 
ill-considered, unseasonable or useless propositions. The 
Athenians knew that it was suicidal for the general as- 
sembly to waste time considering such proposals. 

191. The Athenian Administration. — Moreover, the 
ecclesia, which met at intervals of about a week, could 
exercise only intermittent control over the administration; 
hence the council was empowered to act for it in this 
matter also. Since no man could serve in the council for 
more than two terms, and since its members were des- 
ignated by lot, it was always a body of average citizens 
without any special fitness or experience. Hence it took 



152 Rivalry of Athens and Sparta 

orders readily from the ecclesia. Such a body could 
not supervise the work of officials, if these were strong 
men, of long service, and unrestrained by colleagues. 
Hence the Athenians intrusted their civil administra- 
tion for single terms of one year only to a large number 
of committees of ten members each, whom the lot desig- 
nated. Seven such committees had to do solely with the 
receipt and distribution of public moneys, which private 
contractors collected; three others had to act as inspec- 
The Audit, tors in the market-place. All were directed in their 
routine business by the council to whose auditing com- 
mittee they had to give a monthly accounting; all took 
instructions on matters of general policy from the ecclesia 
to whose three auditing committees they had to render 
an account of the whole year's transactions. Upon this 
account the heliaea must finally pass before the officials 
received an honorable discharge. So many new senators 
and new magistrates were required every year that it was 
difficult for an Athenian to escape either of these duties. 
Hence the citizens generally gained an intimate acquaint- 
ance with the details of government, which enabled them 
to perform their duties as members of the ecclesia with 
knowledge and rapidity. Without keeping in mind the 
fact that, as Grote puts it, the intelligence and experience 
of the average Athenian citizen was as great as that of the 
members of the British House of Commons, It is impossi- 
ble to understand how a general assembly of from five 
thousand to fifty thousand men could manage the affairs 
of a great empire. 

192. The Athenian Ecclesia. — The ecclesia, however, 
did not act without putting further checks upon its own 
authority. Thus all alterations in the law-code of Solon, 



Government by the People 153 

which was the nearest equivalent in Athens to a written 
constitution, must be finally approved by the heliaea. 
Moreover, to keep citizens from making vicious or wil- 
ful changes the regulation was made that anyone who 
proposed a new law or decree was liable to prosecution, 
if it was found to be contrary to existing law. Yet, even The ec- 
with these limitations, the power of the ecclesia, both in throovem- 
its direct administrative activity and its indirect authority °ient. 
over all officials, was very great. It declared war, made 
peace, controlled finance, directed commerce, maintained 
and guarded religion, determined home and foreign policy. 

193. The Athenian Law-Courts. — As the citizens in 
pubhc assembly governed the state, so in the law-courts 
or heliaea they administered justice directly. Most cases, 
whether civil or criminal, came before them. For 
practical work the whole body was divided into sec- 
tions called dicasteries, each numbering from two hun- 
dred to one thousand citizens or even more. Those 
who came before the court pleaded their cause them- 
selves. No lawyers were permitted to speak, though Absence of 
soon a class of men appeared who wrote speeches for 
delivery by the pleaders. As the same citizens acted as 
judges and legislators, it was presumed that they knew 

the law and passed judgment according to it. And 
though the dangers of prejudice and ignorance were not 
always avoided, the legal system and the judicial fair- 
ness of the law-courts of Athens were superior to those 
anywhere else in the world. 

194. The Citizens as Officials. — This active conduct 
of the state by its citizens meant that all had a part in 
it. It has been estimated that each man was brought 
into the service of the state as an official at least once 



154 Rivalry of Athens and Sparta 



Pericles the 
Leader of 
Athenian 
Politics. 



in sixteen years, besides taking part in the law-courts and 
the ecclesia. Much time was required for these duties, 
and this could be spared with difficulty from daily work. 
Hence, pay for certain kinds of state service was intro- 
duced. Members of the council received a drachma—^ 
twenty cents — a day, and the jurors in the heliaea two obols 
— six cents — a day.* Attendance at the assembly was not 
paid nor did the military officials receive any indemnity. 
195. The Strategos. — But who was to lead the citizens 
in their public assembly and suggest lines of policy and 
courses of action ? In theory this was the privilege of any 
citizen. But the Athenians had not developed that con- 
fidence in themselves as individuals, nor had they entirely 
lost that dependence upon the aristocratic families, which 
would permit them to turn their theory into practice. We 
have already seen that the strategoi occupied the most 
honorable positions in the state (§ 167) and that the chief 
strategos was elected by the public assembly. The man 
elected was regularly the head of the strongest party in 
Athens, and in this dual capacity he took the position 
of leader of the demos, "demagogue." His position was 
entirely unofficial. It gave him no legal power. He led 
the people because he was able to persuade them that his 
plans and policy were the best. Themistocles, Aristides 
and Cimon are examples of such leadership. And at this 
time came forward another who, by virtue of his descent, 
personality and character, guided the history of Athens 
for thirty years. This was Pericles, a member on his 
mother's side of the noble family of the Alcmaeonidas to 
which Cleisthenes had belonged. In the conflicts about 



* It must be remembered that the purchasing power of money was 
much greater then than now. 



Pericles 155 

the overthrow of the Areopagus, Ephialtes had been 
murdered, and with his death Pericles stood alone as the 
leader of the democracy. The changes that have been 
described, which turned the government into a practical 
rule of the people, were made under his direction. 
Though he was an aristocrat who knew and maintained 
his distance from the people with a dignity that often 
seemed coldness, he nevertheless took their cause to his 
heart, awed and convinced them by his incorruptible and 
lofty ideals, and swayed them by his clear and glowing 
eloquence. Trusted and followed by the citizens, he ruled 
them as their servant, and moulded the destiny of the state 
as no king or tyrant could ever do. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What events are connected with the 
names of Pausanias, Cimon, Themistocles, Aristides? 2. For 
what are the following places noted : Delos, Eurymedon? 

3. What was the date of the founding of the Delian Confeder- 
acy; of the ostracism of Themistocles? 4. What is meant 
by Areopagus, heliaea, ecclesia, ddrachma, dicastery, Helot? 
5. What weight had the ecclesia in legislation? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the Delian Confederacy 
with the Peloponnesian League (§ 154). 2. Compare Athens 
in the years 500 b.c. and 476 b.c. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Confederacy of Delos. 
Bury, pp. 328-330. 2. Themistocles and the Recovery of 
Athens. Bury, pp. 330-334. 3. Fall of Pausanias and Themis- 
tocles. Bury, pp. 324-326, 334-336. 4. Athens and the Con- 
federacy. Bury, pp. 336-342. 5. Cimon. Bury, pp. 342-345. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Con- 
federacy of Delos. Morey, pp. 205-207; Shuckburgh, pp. 173- 
176. 2. Themistocles and the Recovery of Athens. Morey, 
pp. 202-205; Zimmern, 192-197. 3. Fall of Pausanias and 
Themistocles. Shuckburgh, pp. 178-181; Zimmern, pp. 198-204 

4. Athens and the Confederacy. Botsford, pp. 1 51-153. 5. 
Cimon. Plutarch, Life of Cimon; Morey, pp. 207-209; Zimmern, 
pp. 205-213; Botsford, pp. 152-156. 



156 Age of Pericles 

196. The Age of Pericles. — The thirty years (461- 
431 B.C.) of the leadership of Pericles is the supreme 
period of the Athenian state. It reached the highest 
place of wealth, culture and power. To Pericles and 
his wise direction of affairs this state of things was 
largely due, and the period is properly called the "Age 
of Pericles." As the scene includes the whole of Greece, 
we shall take advantage of it to study, with Athens as 
the central point: {a) the inner life of the Greek world 
in its general features, and {h) the political condition and 
course of affairs, as they prepared the way for the civil 
wars which gave Greece her death-blow. 

197. The Inner Life of Greece. — The chief charac- 
teristic of the age is the growth of city life. The at- 
tempts of Solon and Pisistratus (§§ 159, 160) to better 
the lot of the Attic peasants had broken up many of the 
large estates and made Attica a country of small farmers. 
But at the same time, with the improvement of agricult- 
ural conditions, the opportunities for making a living in 
the city and enjoying life there grew greater, and multitudes 

Growth of of countrymen flocked thither. The attractions of trade 
also brought large numbers of foreigners to reside more 
or less permanently in Athens and other cities. The result 
was that city populations reached their highest point. Ac- 
cording to probable estimates, Athens numbered upward 
of 150.000 people; Syracuse was not far behind; Corinth 
and ^gina reached about 60,000; Sparta and Argos were 
much smaller, and there was a goodly number of the cities 
of the .-Egean in which from 10,000 to 30,000 people lived. 

198. Extension of Trade and Industry. — ^Trade and in- 
dustry became the chief activities in the largest of these 
cities. The wants of the large populations must be sup- 



the City. 



Commerce of Athens 



157 



plied. Many people set up little shops in which they 
manufactured and sold goods directly to customers. The 
state needed many hands for its growing public business, 
and many others found their bread in working on the 
public buildings which were everywhere put up on a 
scale of splendor corresponding to the increasing wealth 
and importance of the communities. Manufacturing 
on a large scale was not uncommon, and many workmen 



„OOOTUS 00E3 NOT '<_''£>*_ ™* _f* ^ NORTH THE LAND EXTEND 




THE WORLD 

Accordlnt; to ITerodotus 
ruth Centurr B. C. 



were employed in turning out the various articles which 

the rapidly advancing commerce required for export to 

all parts of the Greek world. The mercantile activity Athens the 

of the Piraeus, the port of Athens, grew with tremendous ciai Centre 

strides. Ships from all sides brought food for the sup- g^^^j^f/j^*' 

port of the population — grain and fish from the Black terranean. 

sea, meats from Thessaly and Sicily, fruits from Euboea, 

Rhodes and Phoenicia. Costly woods came from Crete, 

ivory from Libya, carpets from Carthage, incense from 

Syria and books from Egypt. "The fruits of the whole 



158 Ag'e of Pericles 

earth," said Pericles, "flow in upon us; so that we en- 
joy the goods of other countries as freely as of our own." 
The incorporation of the cities of the Delian Confederacy 
into the Athenian empire still further stimulated commerce 
at Athens if not throughout the various cities. One law 
and one system of coinage and of weights and measures 
governed most of their transactions with one another. 

199. Increase of Wealth. — Thus opportunity was of- 
fered for a large increase of wealth. We have seen the 
older idea gradually passing away, that true property 
was property in land (§§ 135, 140). Now, although the 
aristocracy still cherished the notion and took pride in 
' ' their estates, manufacturing, trade and dealing in money 
afforded to the many the largest opportunity for acquir- 
ing property and the best standard for estimating it. 
A thoroughly organized system of coinage was in opera- 
Coinage. tiou. The principal silver coin was the drachma (nearly 
twenty cents); there were also two, three and four 
drachma pieces. Of smaller coins the chief was the 
obol (about three cents); six of them made a drachma. 
A copper coin, the chalkous, was one-eighth of the obol. 
The standard of monetary exchange was the talent (about 
$1,180), containing sixty minas (the mina about $20); 
the mina contained one hundred drachmas. Gold coins 
were usually those of foreign countries. Later, the gold 
stater, in value perhaps equal to twenty drachmas, was 
coined. Money had a greater purchasing power than 
at present, and therefore the large fortunes of that day 
seem small to us. A capital of from $12,000 to $15,000 
placed one in the ranks of the rich. Such men of wealth 
found abundant opportunities for loaning their money, 
since all sorts of manufacturing and commerical enter- 



Money Not the Only Good 159 

prises needed capital. The usual rate of interest on good 
security was about twelve per cent. 

200. Greeks Not Great Capitalists. — It seems clear, 
however, that in general the Greeks had no such com- 
prehension of business, nor did they so fully recognize 
the importance of encouraging trade, as did the an- 
cient Babylonians. They were slow to see that ''money- 
making" was a desirable activity. It was enough that 
all should live according to their station and serve the 
state as service was required. Even though to be a land- 
holder was by that time not regarded as indispensable to 
good social standing, wealth did not of itself make its 
possessor a man highly regarded. On the contrary, a 
merchant or trader, however rich he might be, was looked 
down upon. The ordinary citizen, living on the modest 
proceeds of his daily work, or supported by the scanty 
dole of the state for his public servdce, was more honor- 
able. Hindrances were put in the way of commerce, and 
limits were assigned to the profits to be gained. Yet 
commerce grew and thrived in spite of public sentiment. 
Only because the advantages of having money could not Greek 
be denied did the struggle for it continue to absorb more jj^'^ji* 
and more of the energies of the citizens. Yet it never Money, 
approached the importance and prominence which it has 
to-day. The Greek thought more of what he was than 
of what he had; to serve the state and to enjoy life as well 
as to enlarge his opportunities of doing both, these were 
more desirable in his eyes than absorption in business 
and the pursuit of wealth. 

The result of this was that the business of Athens Foreigners 

• 1 1 • T 1 r • • 1 '° Busi- 

was carried on chieny by foreigners who were permitted ness. 
to settle in the city; they were called metics. The 



160 Age of Pericles 

leaders of the state saw clearly the advantages of en- 
couraging them to pursue their businesses, and they were 
more liberally dealt with at Athens than elsewhere. 
Apart from having no citizen-rights and being com- 
pelled to pay a tax to the state, they were on an equality 
with other freemen. The same laws protected them; the 
same privileges were granted them. As a result many 
of them were found at Athens, and in this period they 
numbered about thirty thousand persons. 

201. The Slave. — From an economic and social point 
of view the most important class of the population was 
the slaves. Their unpaid labor was employed in tilling 
the great estates, in working the mines, in turning out 
manufactured articles and in doing all sorts of household 
service. They made it possible for such citizens as owned 
them to obtain the leisure necessary to perform their polit- 
ical duties and to enjoy the opportunities for culture which 
the state afforded. But they took the bread from the 
mouths of the tens of thousands of citizens who had to 
work for their living. As the activities of the cities en- 
Economic larged, the number of slaves also increased. The slave- 
siavery. trade became more important; the supply from the north 

iEgean and Black sea region was abundant; captives in 
war were sold. Every city had a large slave population; 
that at Athens has been estimated at about one hundred 
thousand and the other large cities had proportionate 
numbers. They formed, one might say, the foundation 
of the economic structure, but were not an unmixed 
blessing. 

202. The Family. — Another social element, the family, 
throws an instructive side-light upon Greek life. The 
quality and freedom which reigned in the best public life 



Social Inactivity of Women 161 

of the time had no place in the Kfe at home. The hus- 
band was ruler in his household, and his wife was a 
social nonentity. He spent little time at home; she sel- 
dom left it. Here the Greek was far behind the oriental 
of Babylonia and Egypt (§ 25), where woman had a 
relatively high place in society. Indeed, in some re- 
spects, the cultured and free Athenian did not respect 
woman as highly as the rude Spartan, who gave her 
much larger liberty. In the earlier ages of the aristocratic woman, 
rule the wives of the nobles seem to have had greater ^ 
influence, but it is one of the strange inconsistencies of,^-^ 
Greek life that the new democracy and the larger city-^" 
life both worked to lower the social activities of woman. 
The wife did not always have charge of the household, 
which, in the case of a well-to-do man, was managed by a f 
steward. She usually brought a dowry to her husband, 
which in case of divorce had to be repaid to her father. 
On the whole, nowhere is the limitation of the Greek 
ideal of life more distinctly manifest than in the position 
of woman and the contribution of the family to society. 
The Greeks thought of marriage chiefly as a means of 
raising up citizens for the state; an interesting illustra- 
tion of this idea is seen in the law introduced in Pericles' 
time, that only he could be accepted as a citizen whose 
father and mother were Athenians by blood. Naturally, 
girls were not as desirable as boys, and little attention 
was paid to them beyond keeping them indoors. The 
boy, however, was very carefully reared. Grammar, Education, 
music and gymnastics were the three parts of his educa- 
tion. By the first was meant the learning of his own lan- 
guage and the study of Homer and the other early poets, 
not merely as a means of training in forms of speech, but 



162 Age of Pericles 

as sources of knowledge about life, duty and religion. In 
music, he was taught how to sing, and to play on musical 
instruments. Gymnastics included running and wrest- 
ling, practice in the use of weapons, riding and other 
similar exercises for the finest bodily development and 
skill in arms. 

203. The House.— Greek society then was chiefly a 
society of men whose main interests lay in public life. 
The house, for example, was ordinarily small and unat- 
tractive. It faced directly on the street, often with no 
opening except the door which swung outward, a fact 
suggestive of the preference of the Greek for the open 
air. The women's apartments were separate and se- 
Life Varies cludcd. Indeed, the house served the Greek chiefly for 

with Classes i • ^i j_ • r 1 • j j j.t. 1 

and Days, slcepmg purposcs, the stormg of his goods and the keep- 
ing of his household. From it he sallied out very early 
in the morning, after a taste of wine and bread, if it were 
the day of a festival or the meeting of the ecclesia, to 
meet his friends, or take part in the public business in 
the assembly or elsewhere. Toward the middle of the 
day he took breakfast or lounged about and gossiped in 
the public walks or porticoes. The gymnasium occupied 
him in the afternoon as a place of exercise or of inter- 
course with friends, whence he returned home for dinner, 
the chief meal of the day. If a poor man, he went early 
to bed; if well-to-do and socially inclined, he spent the 
evening at a banquet with his friends. If, on the other 
hand, it were a common work day, a rich man would 
busy himself with looking after his slaves and other 
investments, a farmer would plant his crop or tend his 
orchard, an artisan would hie to his shop or factory, a sea- 
man or fisher would turn to his avocation much as in 



Public Buildings 163 

any modern state. There were, however, about one 
hundred and ten days of a fete or a pubhc assembly in 
every year in Athens.. 

204. High Plane of Living. — The Athens of Pericles 
offered the finest type of this manner of life to be found 
in the fifth century. The pursuit of wealth was sub- 
ordinated to the joy of making the most of life among 

one's fellows and in public activity. The "glorification idealism, 
of cultivated human intercourse" was the ideal toward 
which men strove. The pinch of want was removed by 
the stipend sufficient for simple living which the state paid 
its poorest citizen for his work in its service. Orphans 
and cripples were cared for at public expense. Public 
lands, obtained as the outcome of war, were assigned 
to citizens who were willing to go and live upon them. 
Two features of this life which had an especially impor- 
tant bearing on the material welfare of the citizen and his 
higher culture deserve special mention: the public build- 
ings and the religious festivals. 

205. Public Buildings. — In Greece, as in ancient Baby- 
lonia (§ 31), the chief buildings of every city were its 
temples. They were the centres of public life, of busi- 
ness as well as of religion. They were the places of de- 
posit for money or treasure of any sort. Although, in 
the Greek states, the growth of popular government and 
the emphasis on the independence of the individual had 
made the political predominance of the priest impossible 
and his influence on public affairs unimportant, yet re- 
ligion continued to be glorified by stately and beautiful 
temples, adorned with the highest artistic skill. The The 
Athenian temples had perished in the successive on- Tg^pieT 
slaughts of the Persians, and it was a duty as well as a 



164 Ag-e of Pericles 

pious delight on the part of the citizens to restore them. 
Cimon had begun the work on a noble scale, but Pericles 
continued the task and carried it through in a fashion 
that has immortalized his own name as well as that of 
Athens. An artist of the highest genius was at his hand 
in the person of Phidias, who was assisted by other men 
of uncommon ability. The principal scene of this archi- 
tectural and artistic display was the A-crop'o-lis (§§ 122, 
165); and the building in which it reached its height was 
the temple of A-the'na the Virgin (Parthenos), hence 
called the Par'the-non. Unlike the famous structures of 
the ancient east, it was not the immense size of the Parthe- 
non, but its beautiful proportions, exquisite adornment 
and ideal sculptures that made it memorable. It was 
100 feet wide, 226 feet long and 65 feet high, built of 
marble and painted in harmonious colors. A row of 
forty-six Doric columns surrounded it, and every avail- 
able space above the columns, within and without, was 
carved in relief with scenes representing glorious events in 
the religious history of Athens. A wonderfully sculptured 
frieze, extending for more than 500 feet around the inner 
temple, depicted, with a variety and energy never sur- 
passed, scenes in the Panathenaea, the festival in honor of 
the patron goddess, Athena. In the temple stood a statue 
of the deity, the masterpiece of Phidias, made of ivory 
and gold, 38 feet in height including the pedestal. Though 
the statue has long since disappeared and the temple 
itself is but a ruin, the remains of it illustrate supremely 
the chief features of Greek architecture — "simplicity, 
harmony, refinement," the union of strength and beauty. 
206. The Religious Festivals of Athens. — Nowhere in 
the Greek world were the religious festivals celebrated 



Greek Tragedy 105 

with so great splendor and beauty as in the Athens of 
Pericles. In addition to the ancient Dionysiac festivals 
already mentioned (§ i6o), there was the new one es- 
tablished by Pisistratus, the Great or City Dionysia, 
celebrated in April. The contests in tragedy and com- 
edy were its central feature. Here, before the Athenian The puys. 
public, some of the most glorious productions of human 
genius were produced. Here ^Eschylus (§ 179) had 
taught his tremendous lessons of righteousness and hu- 
mihty. He was succeeded by Soph'o-cles (about 496- Sophocles. 
406 B.C.), who won the prize over his older competitor 
in 468 B.C., and gained it many times thereafter. He 
represents the high, free and glad spirit of the Athens of his 
day. His most famous play is the An-tig'o-ne, in which 
is brought out the victory of duty over the fear of death, 
of the higher law of God over the visible law of man. 
Antigone buries the body of her brother, though the king 
has forbidden it under pain of death. The serene soul of 
the poet is marvellously shown in the beauty and dignity 
of his style. He sang of men as they ought to be, reveal- 
ing and idealizing human character, which, at its best, is, 
in his inspired vision, harmonious with the blessed will of 
God. So he interpreted the supreme ideal of the age of 
Pericles and lived it himself. " He died well, having suf- 
fered no evil." A later poet, imagining him in the other 
world, described him as "gentle" there, "even as he was 
gentle among us." 

207. The Eleusinian Mysteries. — Another famous, fes- 
tival was that of the Mysteries (§ 134) of E-leu'sis. Eleu- 
sis lay twelve miles away from Athens, and every year 
early in September multitudes gathered in the capital 
to make in solemn procession the journey to the Eleu- 



166 



Ag'e of Pericles 



The 

Panathe- 

nsa. 



The Father 
ot History. 



sinian temple to be initiated into the mysteries or to 
renew the celebration of them. A day of purification 
by washing in the sea preceded the moving of the pro- 
cession, which passed along the sacred way to the splen- 
did temple at Eleusis, rebuilt by Ic-tin'us under Pericles' 
direction. Here those secret acts of worship and devo- 
tion to the goddess Demeter were performed, which ex- 
ercised so deep, wholesome and hopeful an influence 
upon Greek life. Yet by far the most splendid of all 
festivals was the Pan'a-the-nae'a, celebrated with peculiar 
magnificence every fourth year, a festival which glorified 
at the same time the goddess Athena, and the city of her 
joy and glory. For nearly a week contests in music, 
song and recitation, in gymnastics, races and warlike 
sports, were held, and all was concluded with a solemn 
procession to the temple of Athena on the Acropolis, 
where a costly robe woven by the maidens of the city was 
given to the goddess. That procession, made up of the 
flower of the Athenian citizens, of resident aliens and 
colonists, was depicted on the frieze of the Parthenon 
(§ 205) and formed the finest picture of Athens jn the 
days of its highest splendor. 

208. Herodotus. — At a Panathenaean festival in the 
days of Pericles, Herodotus is said to have recited his 
History, the first prose work of genius that Greece pro- 
duced. Herodotus (about 484-425 B.C.) was a native of 
Hal'i-car-nas'sus in Caria, but after the days of his youth 
found a second home at Athens. He travelled, with eyes 
and ears wide open, all over the world, from the capitals 
of Persia to Italy, and from the Black sea to the southern 
border of Egypt. The results of his investigations he 
gathered into a work which finds its motive in the Per- 



Fruits of Democracy 167 

sian wars. As he portrays successively before us the 
rise of Persia, the conquest of Babylon and Egypt, the 
past history of these peoples, the Scythian expedition, 
he leads up to the great, the supreme struggle between 
this mighty, world-conquering empire and the petty 
Greek states. Then he describes the wars in detail. 
The whole is a prose poem, pointing the moral of ^s- 
chylus (§ 179). Scattered through this broad field are 
innumerable anecdotes, traditions, legends, which en- 
liven while they do not break the single impression (§ 29). ■ 
Devoted to Athens, he glorified the part taken by the city 
in the war; he loved her institutions and enjoyed her 
society. His work shares in the artistic, keen and genial 
spirit characteristic of her best days, and while descrip- 
tive and not critical, its originality and charm have given 
it a permanent place in literature. 

209. The Education of the Athenian Citizen. — We Theoif- 
are ready to understand now how Athens realized the c"uitw^^ 
ideal of "the glorification of cultivated human inter- 
course" (§ 204), the elevation of a body of men possessed 
of social and political equality to a common height of 
intelligence and general culture never reached before 
that day, or probably since. All beheld daily these 
marvels of architecture and art, and many took part in 
their erection. All joined in these splendid festivals, 
witnessed or contended in the athletic, musical and lit- 
erary contests. The state paid to the citizens who 
claimed it a fee for attending the theatre, so that all were 
able to see and hear the plays of xEschylus or Sophocles. 
It must be remembered that these theatrical exhibitions 
were also contests between rival authors, in which the 
people themselves were judges. Thus a standard of 



168 



Age of Pericles 



taste and appreciation was set at a very high mark. 
The participation in public life, the decisions on points of 
state policy which lay in the hands of the citizens, were 
all means of training. The popular law-courts cultivated 
the judicial faculty. The administration of the affairs 
of the state awakened and trained executive ability. 
Thus the higher powers of the great body of citizens 
were educated to an extraordinary degree; the experience 
made the Athenians the most splendidly intelligent of all 
Greeks. Such an atmosphere of breadth and freedom, 
that encouraged higher thought, invited to Athens from 
all over the Greek world men who were eager to know 
and to teach. As a consequence the best that was 
thought and said and done in art and politics and liter- 
ature was found at Athens. Therefore, it was no vain 
boast of Pericles, but sober truth, when he said, "Athens 
is the school of Greece, and the individual Athenian in 
his own person seems to have the power of adapting him- 
self to the most varied forms of action with the utmost 
versatility and grace." 

210. Sources of Athenian Revenue. — But whence 
came the money to meet the expenses of this highly and 
richly organized system of government? Athens had 
various sources of revenue: rent from state lands, in- 
cluding ' especially the silver mines, tolls for markets, 
and harbor dues, the tax on resident foreigners, the 
receipts from the law-courts in fees, confiscations, etc., 
and in case of great necessity, a direct assessment upon 
the people of property. The costs of the splendid exhi- 
bitions at festivals were borne by the free-will offerings 
of rich citizens, and some offices were without salary. 
The entire income from all sources was about one thou- 



Quest for World Ernpire 169 

sand talents yearly. Besides this, the receipts from the 
allied cities of the league amounted at this time to about 
six hundred talents. Athena also possessed a great sum 
of money in her temple from gifts of the pious, her share 
of the booty in war, etc., and she was called upon to con- 
tribute her share to the upbuilding of the state, as well 
as to lend money when required. From all these sources 
Pericles drew the money needful for the various depart- 
ments of the administration and for the public buildings 
with which the city was adorned. 

211. Greek Politics in the Age of Pericles. — From 
this sketch of the inner life (§§ 197-210) we pass to the 
foreign relations of Athens under the leadership of Per- 
icles during the same period (461-431 B.C.). The fall of 
Cimon (§ 189) was accompanied not only by the victory of 
democracy at home, but also by an attack upon Sparta's 
supremacy in continental Greece and upon the Persian 
possessions in Cyprus, Phoenicia and Egypt. Alliance Athens 
was made with Argos and Thessaly; Megara was drawn Dominate 
away from the Peloponnesian league. A naval station theWorW. 
was secured on the Corinthian gulf at Naupactus where the 
Athenians settled the Messenian Helots who had held out 
at Mt. Ithome since 464 B.C. (§ 187) and had surrendered 
upon the condition that they leave the Peloponnesus. 
These movements threatened the commerce of ^gina War with 
^nd Corinth, and a great war broke out in 459 B.C. Cor- 
inth was beaten; ^Egina was subjected and compelled 
to enter the Delian league. Then Sparta took a hand 
in the war, by entering Bceotia with an army, on the pre- 
tence of punishing the Phocians, but really to organize 
Bceotia against Athens. Though the Spartans defeated 
the Athenians at Tan'a-gra in 457 B.C., they accomplished 



170 



Age of Pericles 



nothing. Two months later, however, the Athenians 
crushed the Boeotians decisively at CE-noph'y-ta, and by 
restoring the aristocratic exiles, substituted their own 
suzerainty for that of Thebes in all the Boeotian cities, 
Phocis and Locris also submitted to Athens. Soon after, 
the Achaean cities on the southern coast of the Corin- 
thian gulf joined her. Thus Athenian influence on land 
extended over a wide territory. But it was also very 
unstable. Accordingly, when Argos concluded a thirty 
years' peace with Sparta in 450 B.C., a five years' truce 
was also arranged by Athens. Three years later, how- 
ever, Boeotia revolted, whereupon Megara, Locris and 
Phocis as well as Euboea fell away. While Pericles was 
absent with the army in Euboea the Peloponnesians in- 
vaded Attica, but retreated on the receipt, it is alleged, of 
a bribe; and so, in the end, though Euboea was recovered, 
the vigorous and costly attempt of Athens to build up a 
great land power in Greece signally failed. Finally, in 
445 B.C., between Athens and Sparta and their respective 
allies a peace was made that was to last thirty years. 
Athens renounced her control of central Greece. The 
allies of each were determined and included in the 
treaty. Each party agreed not to seduce the other's 
allies, but neutrals were left at liberty to join either side 
at will. All future differences were to be settled by 
arbitration. 

212. The War with Persia. — Meanwhile, Athens had 
been carrying on the war with Persia (§§ 182, 187, 211). 
Though no Persian ships appeared in the ^Egean, the 
Athenians determined to cripple the power of the Great 
King still further by aiding a rebellion against him in 
Egypt. In 459 B.C. they sent a strong fleet to the Nile. 



The Athenian Empire 171 

Though at first successful, the rebellion was finally Egyptian 
crushed and the Athenian force destroyed (455 B.C.). ^^p"'^'^'""- 
This serious blow brought hostilities to an end until 
449 B.C., when Cimon, who had been recalled from exile, 
was sent with a fleet to Cyprus, where the Persians were' 
attacking the Greek cities. He died while on the expe- Death of 
dition, but the fleet gained a brilliant victory by which *"^°°" 
Persia was again driven from the sea. These conflicts 
had cost Athens dear in men and money without corre- 
sponding results, so that just as she had come to an agree- 
ment with her enemies in Greece, it seemed wise to make 
peace with Persia. Negotiations were entered upon by 
sending Callias to Susa, and though the Great King would 
not formally agree to yield his claim upon cities that had 
rebelled against him, yet practically he consented, hence- 
forth, not to molest Greek cities or Greek ships. This The Peace 
so-called peace is known as the peace of Callias (448 B.C.). 
213. The Athenian Empire. — Thus Athens in 445 B.C. 
was at peace with all the world. She had learned the 
folly of attempting to conquer Greece and Persia at the 
same time, and now set about recovering her strength and 
developing her legitimate field, that of commerce and con- 
trol of the seas. The decisive steps were taken which 
turned the Dehan league into the Athenian empire. In 
454 B.C., after the Athenian disaster in Egypt, the treasury 
of the league had been removed for greater security from 
Delos to Athens. And now, although all fear of Persia The Allies 
was removed by the peace of Callias, the imperial city con- subjects. 
tinued to require the yearly contributions from the allies 
and dealt with the money according to her own will. The 
decision to treat the allies in this way was not reached 
without a struggle between the parties at Athens. The 



172 



Age of Pericles 



Organiza- 
tion of the 
Empire. 



Athens's 

Great 

Mistake. 



opponents of Pericleo were led by Thucydides, son of 
Me-le'si-as, the ostracism of whom in 443 B.C. settled the 
matter. Samos, Chios and Lesbos alone remained on 
the old footing of furnishing ships to the fleet. All the 
others were subject and paid tribute. Athens collected 
the tolls in their harbors, interfered in their local affairs 
in the interests of democracy, had garrisons in many of 
their cities, sent out inspectors among them, required 
many to destroy their walls. Colonies of Athenian citi- 
zens, called cleruchi, were sent out to occupy lands which 
had fallen into the hands of the Athenian state, and thus 
constituted a body of faithful friends in the midst of rest- 
less subjects. The entire body of cities thus dependent 
on Athens was divided for administrative and financial 
purposes into five districts: Ionia, Caria, the Hellespont, 
Thrace, the Islands. Thus a stately imperial system 
arose with its centre in democratic Athens. The chief 
reason for censuring Athens because of this transforma- 
tion of the old Delian league is that she took no steps to 
attach her subjects to herself otherv/ise than by fear. 
No doubt she gave them protection, better government 
and higher culture, but she had robbed them of their in- 
dependence without granting them citizenship in the new 
community or a voice in the state. This blind selfishness 
and unblushing arrogance of power provoked Samos to 
revolt in 440 B.C. when the aristocratic faction getting 
control of the city withdrew it from the empire. There 
was a grave danger that the outbreak would spread and 
indeed Byzantium followed the lead of Samos. Hence 
Pericles stamped out the insurrection vigorously, razed 
the walls of Samos, and forced it to pay the costs of the 
war. 



The Athenian Empire 173 

214. Wide Extent of Athenian Influence. — Far be- 
yond the bounds of the empire Pericles sought to extend 
the commercial influence and activity of Athens. The Per- 
sian peace opened the ports of the eastern Mediterranean, 
and traders from Athens now frequented them in quest 
of the wares of the orient. Many of the distant Greek 
cities of the Black sea acknowledged Athenian authority. 
The commercial importance of the imperial city grew Enterprises 
continually in the west and opportunity was found to es- ^^^^^ 
tablish political relations there. In 443 B.C., under the 
leadership of Athens, the city of Thurii was founded in 
southeastern Italy. On its west coast Athenian mer- 
chants began to gather the trade into their own hands. 
The leading people of that region, the Etruscans, bought 
Attic vases and sold their curious metal-work in the 
Athenian market. Rome, a city on the river Tiber, 
which held a dominating place in its own district of 
Latium, was already preparing for the mighty part it 
was to play in the centuries to come. In 454 B.C., Embassy 
it is said, the Romans sent an embassy to Greece to 
study its systems of law. They came to Athens and 
thence transplanted parts of the legislation of Solon into 
Roman soil. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following signifi- 
cant; Tanagra, Corcyra, Eleusis, Piraeus, Halicarnassus? 2. 
What is meant by cleruchi, talent, Acropolis, Dionysia, Pan- 
athenaea, Antigone? 3. What are the dates of the age of Peri- 
cles, of the peace of Callias, of the thirty years' peace? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i . Compare Athenian democracy m 
the time of Cleisthenes with that in the age of Pericles. 2. 
Compare the law-courts of Athens with those of your own 
city. 3. Compare the Athenian empire with the Persian 
(§§ 77-84). 



from 
Rome. 



174 Age of Pericles 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Life at Athens in the Age 
of Pericles. Bury, pp. 337-338. 2. The Rise and Fall of 
the Athenian Land Power. Bury, pp. 352-363. 3. Imperial 
Athens. Bury, pp. 278-284, 363-367. 4. The Acropolis. Bury, 
pp. 367-375. 5. The Mysteries. Bury, pp. 311-316. 6. Athens, 
the City. Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, pp. 20-52. 7. The 
Athenian Citizens. Tucker, pp. 61-68, 78-81. 8. Slavery at 
Athens. Tucker, pp. 69-78. 9. The Position of Athenian 
Women. Tucker, pp. 81-85; ^SS^i^y. 10. The Furniture of 
an Athenian Home. Tucker, . pp. 101-104. 11. The Down- 
Town Day of an Athenian Citizen. Tucker, pp. 120-135. ^2. 
An Athenian Dinner-Party. Tucker, pp. 139-152. 13. The 
Athenian Boy's Education. Tucker, pp. 182-189. i4- Relig- 
ious Worship at Athens. Tucker, pp. 210-218. 15. A Day at 
the Theatre. Tucker, pp. 231-242. 16. An Athenian Trial. 
Tucker, pp. 258-263. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Life at Athens 
in the Age of Pericles. Ziramern, pp. 224-235; Morey, pp. 251- 
261. 2. The Rise and Fall of the Athenian Land Power. Zim- 
mern, pp. 219-224; Botsford, pp. 164-169. 3. Imperial Athens. 
Shuckburgh, pp. 213-217; Botsford, pp. 169-172. 4. The Acrop- 
olis. Shuckburgh, pp. 201-204; Morey, pp. 232-239; Botsford, 
pp. 179-185. 5. Herodotus. Capps, ch. 12; Murray, ch. 6; 
Jebb, pp. 103-106. 6. The Mysteries. Encyclopedia Britannica, 
article "Mysteries"; Dyer, The Gods in Greece, ch. 5; Diehl, 
Excursions in Greece, ch. 8. 7. Sophocles. Morey, pp. 245-247; 
Capps, ch. 9; Murray, ch. 11; Jebb, pp. 83-8S. 8. Pericles. 
Plutarch, Life of Pericles. 



215. The War of Corinth and Corey ra. — Another 
movement of Athens in the interest of her commercial 
and poHtical position in the west was the occasion of a 
serious rupture in the peaceful relations that had been 
maintained for ten years between Athens and Sparta. 
In 436 B.C. a quarrel arose between Corinth and Corcyra. 
The latter state, although it possessed a fleet of more 
than fifty ships, could not hope to equal the resources of 
Corinth in a serious conflict. Hence it sought an alliance 



Outbreak of War 175 

Avith Athens. This proposal put the Athenians in a difli- 
cult position. Should they reject it, Corcyra would make 
terms with Corinth, her naval force and commercial in- 
fluence in the west would be thrown against Athens and 
seriously endanger Athenian naval supremacy. Should 
they accept it, their superiority on the sea would be irre- 
sistible, their commercial position in the west strength- 
ened and Corinth, their only commercial rival in the 
Peloponnesian league, put out of the race. But, on the 
other hand, they would risk war with the league. It The inter- 
was finally decided to agree to a defensive alliance with rthens". ° 
Corcyra, whereby Athens was not required to join in an ^|K' 
attack on the Corinthians. As might have been expected, 
this half-way measure roused the enmity of Corinth, 
v/hose future now depended on the weakening of Athens. 
Her only hope for this was in stirring up the Peloponne- 
sian league to war. This was not difficult to do. The 
Spartans had long been jealous of the growing power of 
Athens. The years of peace had been irksome to this 
vigorous and warlike people. Athens, on the other hand, 
under the influence of Pericles, would not yield. He felt 
certain that war could be put off only a few years at the 
most and that Athens was never in a better condition to 
defend herself against her jealous and ambitious enemies. 
He was willing to arbitrate the whole matter, but not to 
compromise. At last, at a council of the Peloponnesian Gives occa- 
league held at Sparta in 432 B.C., it was voted that ^^j. °-fjj 
Athens had broken the peace. This was equivalent to a the Peio- 
declaration of war. Athens accepted it as such and the League, 
conflict began in 431 B.C. With this a new period in the 
history of the Greek states is begun and we may pause 
to look back over a finished era. 



176 General Review 

GENERAL REVIEW OF PART II, DIVISION 5; §§ 164-215 

500-431 B.C. 

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION, i. An outline of the events 
of these periods arranged so as to bring out the chief historical 
movements and forces. 2. Illustrate the progress of Athe- 
nian democracy by the successive policies of Miltiades, Aris- 
tides, Themistocles, Cimon, Pericles (§§165, 168, 177, 183, 184, 
187, 195). 3. Trace the growth of the Athenian empire from 
500-431 B.C. 4. Justify the policy of Themistocles from the 
events that followed. 5. The various stages in the war with 
Persia (§§ 165, 167, 169, 176, 182, 187, 211-212). 6. Acomparison 
of ^schylus with Sophocles to illustrate the difference in 
the periods to which they respectively belong (§§ 179, 206). 
7. A list of the most important dates in these periods. 

MAP AND PICTURE EXERCISES, i. Make an outline map 
of the Athenian empire in 456 b.c, inserting all the places 
mentioned in the text. 2. Make a map and plan of Pylos and 
discuss the battle on the basis of your drawing. 3. Study the 
heads of Sophocles and Pericles in Plate XVIII and compare 
with those of Hammurabi and Ramses II in Plate II. Indicate 
the artistic and historical resemblances and differences. 4. 
Compare the Greek temples in Plate XXIV with those in Plate 
VI. Observe the differences in form and arrangement. How 
do these differences throw light on the different characteristics 
of the oriental and Greek peoples? 5. Note the likenesses and 
unlikenesses in the bucolic scenes of Plates XV and XXI. 

TOPICS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS, i. The Privileges and Duties 
of an Athenian Citizen in the Age of Pericles. Fowler, The 
City State, ch. 6. 2. A Visit to the Acropolis of Athens — a 
description of Plate XVII. See references above, § 214; Diehl, 
Excursions in Greece, ch. 4. 3. Herodotus, the Man and His 
Book (see the references above, § 214). 4. The Story of a Day in 
Athens in the Age of Pericles. Mahaffy, Old Greek Life; Grant, 
Greece in the Age of Pericles. 5. The Greek Theatre — the Build- 
ing and the Play. 6. Styles of Greek Architecture. Tar- 
bell, ch. 3. 7. The Architecture of Greek Buildings as Com- 
pared with that of Buildings in Your Own City. 8. The Story 
of Sophocles' "Antigone." Translation by Palmer. 



Causes of War 1 77 

216. The War Unjustifiable, yet Unavoidable. — The 

war, called the Peloponnesian war, which now ensued 
and with intervals of peace lasted for more than a 
quarter of a century (431-404 B.C.) was one of the most 
melancholy wars of history. In one sense it was utterly 
unjustifiable and unnecessary. Athens and Sparta might 
have gone on peacefully, each in her separate way— 
the one a strong land power, the other the mistress 
of the seas. Both had every reason to avoid a con- 
flict which was sure to be long and costly and the out- 
come of which was quite uncertain. The grounds on 
which war was declared were not sufhcient to justify the 
declaration. Passion and prejudice forced the decisive 
step. But, from another point of view, the war was un- 
avoidable. Beneath all reasons on the surface of the 
situation, the deeper cause was the imperial ideal of 
Athens. In building up her empire, Athens had come 
into conflict with the long-established idea that every 
Greek state had, as its deepest right, the right to political 
independence. The Spartans, in opening the war, de- 
clared that they waged it on behalf of Greek freedom 
against the tyrant. The majority of the states naturally 
sympathized with this spirit. We are to see in the Pel- The 
oponnesian war, therefore, the conflict of two mighty xwo^s^Jtsof 
forces — the one, the purely Greek idea of the separate Principles, 
and independent existence of city-states; the other, the 
world-ideal of empire, which had its rise in the dawn of 
human history. These two forces could not long exist 
together; sooner or later they must grapple one with the 
other in a life-and-death struggle. Nor was this the only 
ground for an "irrepressible conflict." In all the cities 
of both the Athenian and Spartan confederations there 



178 



Peloponnesian War 



The Plan 
of the 
Pelopon- 
nesians. 



The Plan 
of Pericles. 



were two factions, a democratic and an aristocratic — the 
one drawn as by a magnet to Athens, the other to Sparta. 
Each of the leaders had its partisans in the other's camp 
whose action might at any moment precipitate a general 
war. 

217. Comparison of the Combatants. — The situation 
of the combatants was peculiar. Neither could be at- 
tacked in its strongest point. Athens's supremacy by 
sea was safe from its enemies, unless they had money to 
build ships and hire sailors, and money was scarce in the 
Peloponnesus. The Peloponnesians were strong on land, 
and Athens had no infantry that could stand against 
them. For the Peloponnesians there was but one thing 
to do — invade Athenian territory. But Athens itself was 
too strongly fortified to be taken, and it could not be 
starved into surrender so long as supplies could be brought 
in by sea. The fields could be laid waste by the Invaders, 
but that was all. For the Athenians the plan of cam- 
paign, required by the situation and outlined by Pericles, 
was chiefly a defensive one. The country people, on the 
approach of the enemy, should leave their farms, cheer- 
fully accept the spoiling of their goods, and dwell in the 
city during the month or more of the invasion. The 
Peloponnesians would then be forced to return home by 
lack of supplies and the necessity of tilling their fields, 
whereupon the Attic farms could be reoccupied by their 
owners and the damages repaired. Resistance to the 
enemy by land battles would be avoided, but the Athenian 
fleet would sally out to strike at exposed points on the 
enemy's coast and to ruin the commerce of cities like 
Corinth and Megara. The commerce of Athens, on 
the contrary, would remain undisturbed by the conflict. 



Death of Pericles 179 

Hence, the war would resolve itself into a question of its Advan- 
endurance, and Pericles was confident that Athens, sup- '^^^' 
ported and enriched by its enlarging trade, would at last 
emerge triumphant. The resources of the Peloponnc- 
sians would be exhausted in striking fruitless blows, and 
before long they would cease the unprofitable conflict. 

218. The First Period of the War.— This plan of Per- 
icles was followed in the main, during the first ten years 
of the war (431-421 B.C.), and these were the years of 
Athenian success. All Attica gathered behind the walls 
of Athens during the spring months of the first two 
years, when the Peloponnesians were abroad in the land. 
In the third year they omitted their raid and fell with all 
their force upon Platasa, an Athenian ally, whose isolated 
position in Boeotia doomed it to eventual destruction. 
Nevertheless, it beat off the attack made in 429 B.C., and Fail of 
only fell two years later when starved into submission. All ^^***^- 
the defenders who survived were executed without mercy. 
Years brought no impairment of the spirit of the Athe- 
nians. Even a fearful visitation of the plague, which car- Plague at 
ried away nearly a third of the citizens in the second and 
third years (430-429 e.g.), shook their resolution for but 
a moment. The worst blow was the death of Pericles, Death of 
who fell a victim to the epidemic in 429 B.C. With the ^^"'^^^^• 
removal of his wise counsel and powerful personality it 
was difficult for the democracy to keep to any fixed 
policy. Two parties sprang up. One party, headed by The Parties. 
Nicias, a wealthy contractor and capitahst, who in dis- Nkias. 
position was cautious, moderate, grave and pious, a fair 
general and a serious politician, was inclined to bring 
the war to a close as soon as it could be done without 
dishonor to the state. The other party was led by Cleon, cieon. 



180 Peloponnesiaii War 

a rich manufacturer. He was in favor of prosecuting 
the war much more vigorously than the defensive poHcy 
of Pericles would have permitted. By his persuasive 
speech he obtained the leadership of the radical demo- 
crats. The mass of the citizens inclined first to one side 
and then to the other, with the result that Athens now 
embarked in rash and sometimes unfortunate enterprises, 
now did little more than stand on the defensive. 

219. The Revolt of Lesbos. — A good illustration of 
the vacillation of the Athenian assembly was given on 
the occasion of the revolt of Mytilene, which in 428 B.C. 
shook off the control of Athens. There was no dispute 
between Nicias and Cleon as to the necessity of suppress- 
ing the outbreak vigorously, since otherwise the whole 
empire would be dissolved. Hence, resort was had to the 
direct property tax to raise funds, and in 427 B.C., after 
a winter's siege, the rebellious city had to surrender. It 
was in the treatment to be accorded to the vanquished 
that opinions differed. Di-o'do-tus of Nicias's party urged 
clemency as the best basis for future co-operation with 
the allies, while Cleon, affirming that terrorism alone up- 
held the empire, recommended that all the adult males 
of Mytilene be put to death and the women and children 
be sold into slavery. This harsh policy the Athenians 
accepted one day, but on the next, repenting of their 
cruel decree, they compromised and condemned to death 
the ringleaders alone. A swift trireme sent after the 
ship which bore the command for a general execution 
barely arrived in time to save the innocent population. 

220. The Pylos Affair. — The high- water mark of 
Athenian success in the ten years' war v/as reached in 
425 B.C. In the spring of that year a fleet was sent out 



1 



Pylos 



181 



to the west. On their way the ships put in at the bay 
of Pylos, on the west of the Peloponnesus in Mcssenia. 
Here, Dc-mos'the-nes, Athens's most brilliant general, 
was landed with a small force and fortified the promontory 
of Pylos. On hearing of this the Peloponnesian army, 
already in Attica engaged in its yearly devastation of 
the land, hastily re- 
turned. A Spartan 
force, supported 
by a fleet, attacked 
the Athenians, who 
defended them- 
selves valiantly. A 
body of Spartan 
hoplites took pos- 
session of the long 
narrow island of 
Sphac-t e'ri-a, 
which, from the 
point of Pylos, 
stretched away to- 
ward the south 
and formed the 
outer side of the 




harbor. Suddenly the Athenian fleet reappeared and drove 
the Spartan fleet upon the shore, thus cutting off the four 
hundred and twenty Spartan hoplites on the island from 
their fellows on the mainland. These men made up about 
one-sixth of the citizen body of Sparta, and the Spartan 
authorities made every effort to save them, even sending 
ambassadors to Athens to ask terms of peace. Thus the 
Athenians had the opportunity to end the war with a brill- 



Rash 
Policy 



182 Peloponnesian War 

iant triumph, but under the persuasions of Cleon the am- 
bassadors were denied a fair hearing, and the war went 

cieon's on. On the promise of Cleon that he would bring the Spar- 
tan hoplites prisoners to Athens in twenty days, he was 
given troops and sent as general to Pylos. He was himself 
no skilful soldier, but he took with him reinforcements 
with which Demosthenes was able to force the Spartans 
to surrender within the specified time. This success lifted 
Cleon into the highest favor with the people, and his 
policy of bold, aggressive warfare was approved. The 
most favorable moment for making peace had been al- 
lowed to slip. Accordingly, in the following year (424 
B.C.) the Athenians made an attack with full force upon 
Boeotia, Demosthenes advancing from the Corinthian 
gulf, Hip-poc'ra-tes, with seven thousand hoplites and 
twenty thousand light-armed troops, advancing from At- 
tica. The Boeotians were prepared for the invasion, and 
the two attacks were not delivered at the same moment. 

Battle of Hence, Hippocrates was assailed near Delium by the main 
Boeotian army and completely defeated. The judgment 
of Pericles was vindicated. Athens was unequal to her 
enemy on land. 

221. Brasidas and His Plan. — In the meanwhile the 
Peloponnesians had done little more, year by year, than 
make invasions into Attica or ward off as best they might 
the advances of Athens upon the mainland. But in the 
year of the Boeotian victory at Delium they scored a suc- 
cess which augmented the weight of that disaster. This 
they owed to the Spartan general Bras'i-das, the ablest 
officer that had yet appeared on their side. Without a 
fleet the Peloponnesians could make an attack on the 
Athenian empire outside of Attica at only one point. 



Delium. 



Peace ofNicias 188 

The genius of Brasidas perceived and struck at that 
one point — the Athenian possessions in Macedonia and 
Thrace. Hurrying north with a small force, he appeared 
before the city of A-can'thus, and, with the plea that 
he had come to secure freedom from the Athenian ty- 
rant, he induced the city to rebel. The Athenians were 
taken unprepared, and before they could collect them- 
selves the important city of Am-phip'o-lis had fallen. The 
failure in Boeotia and the losses in Thrace now gave the 
peace party the ascendancy in Athens, and in 423 B.C. a 
year's truce was arranged for the purpose of concluding 
a permanent peace. The negotiations, however, came 
to naught, and in 422 B.C. Cleon sailed to the north to 
recover the cities lost in that quarter. In a skirmish at Death of 
the gates of Amphipolis, both he and Brasidas were ^^°^i^^^ 
slain. 

222. Peace of Nicias. — With Cleon out of the way, 
there was opportunity at Athens for the lovers of peace to 
carry through their programme. Accordingly, in 421 B.C., Result of 
a treaty was signed for a fifty years' peace between Sparta ye^ars! 
and Athens. The war had closed with the advantage 
entirely on the side of Athens. The fundamental article 
of the treaty was that both powers should give back what 
they had conquered from each other during the war. 
This meant for the Spartans the loss of the cities in the 
north and for the Athenians the setting free of the Spar- 
tans taken at Pylos. But the Athenian empire remained Athens in 
practically undiminished, and Corinth's sea power and cendant. 
commerce had been shattered, while Athens had enlarged 
and strengthened her possessions. On the other hand, 
the purpose of the Peloponnesian league to destroy the 
Athenian empire had utterly failed and the members of 



184 



Peloponnesian War 



the league were themselves at odds one with another. 
Athens was mistress of the situation. 

223. Changes in Athenian Temper and Spirit. — We 
must pause here to note some changes in Athenian life, 
which had their root in the time of Pericles, but bore fruit 
during the years of war. We have seen (§§ 189-195) 
how democracy under Pericles was perfected. The peo- 
ple ruled directly, and politics became the passion of the 
citizens. To guide the people successfully one must 
persuade them in public assembly; he who would win 
them to his way of thinking and acting must be able to 
argue better than his opponents. To be a good orator 
was indispensable for a politician. To meet this demand 
teachers sprang up who professed, among other things, 
to make one skilful in the art of persuasion. These were 
the rhetoricians and the sophists. They were immensely 
popular at Athens. Men learned from them how to pre- 
sent arguments and to weigh them, to put ideas in a 
taking way in public speech, and to reply to opponents 
successfully. It was not so important that the cause 
urged was good or bad, or that the arguments presented 
in favor of it were right or wrong — they must be such 
that the people, hearing them, would think them sound 
and vote accordingly. As this skill grew, the people 
grew more critical also. The public assembly became a 
school of debate, where sharp-witted politicians con- 
tended before a keen and excited audience. Fine points 
were applauded and dulness hissed. But the result of 
this was to put truth and justice below shrewdness in 
debate, to make adroitness and popular oratorical skill 
more important than character and honor in a political 
leader. The Athenians fell into this fatal error. 



A ristophanes 185 

224. Comedy as an Illustration of the Times. — This 
condition of things is illustrated in the comedy of the 
times. Comedy, like tragedy (§ 160), arose in con- 
nection with the religious festivals and dealt familiarly 
with the scenes and events of common life. In Athens, 
where the main interest was politics, it found its con- 
genial subjects in the political leaders, who were held up 
to unmeasured ridicule amidst the unrestrained laughter 

of the audience. The greatest comic poet of the day was Aristoph- 
Ar-is-toph'a-nes (about 450-385 b.c). In his Knights he ^°^^* 
satirizes the Demos as an ill-natured old man, who is the 
prey of his villainous slave, the leather-worker (meaning 
Cleon, who was a tanner). The Clouds jests at the new 
learning of the time. The Wasps makes fun of the 
Athenian law-courts by a mock trial in which justice is 
parodied. The Birds pictures a bird-city "Cloudcooc- 
kootown" where the bustle and excitement of Athens are 
kept out. The Frogs describes the adventures of Diony- 
sus, who goes to Hades (the underworld) to find a poet, 
and is in doubt whether to bring back ^schylus (es'ki-lus) 
or the favorite dramatist of the time, Eu-rip'i-des. He 
finally decides for the former. All these and the other 
comedies of Aristophanes are, in spite of their coarseness 
and personal abuse, works of permanent power because 
of their rollicking humor and vigor, interspersed with 
passages of wonderful lyric beauty. The strange thing 
is' that the Athenians were willing to listen to such satires 
on their life and such caricatures of their statesmen, to 
laugh at their leaders one day and follow them the next. 

225. Effect of Culture on Morals and Religion. — The 
culture of Athens, fed by architecture, painting and 
sculpture, by the spectacles of the tragic and comic 



186 



Peloponnesian JVar 



Irritates 
Pious Peo- 
ple. 



stage, and stimulated by the stirring political activity, 
could not fail to have its influence on religion and morals. 
It is true that most men were too busy about business and 
politics to trouble themselves as to whether their notions 
about the gods would stand the test. But a few could not 
avoid questioning. Pericles gathered about him men like 
the sophist An-ax-ag'o-ras, who, following after the earlier 
thinkers (§132), thought of the world as formed not from 
a single source, but from several original elements, one 
of which is "mind," that puts all things together. He 
regarded the sun and moon as great balls of stone. The 
speed of the sun had turned it into a glowing mass. 
Such ideas — an integral part of the "new learning" 
which the sophists were bringing within the reach of 
everybody in the later Periclean time — were shocking to 
pious people; no less so the teachings of the greatest of 
all the sophists, Pro-tag'o-ras of Ab-de'ra, which may be 
formulated in the following statements: "Man is the 
measure of all things." "In regard to the gods I am- 
unable to say whether they exist or do not exist, for many 
things hinder such knowledge — the obscurity of the mat- 
ter and the shortness of human life." Such ideas over- 
turned the old faith. Those who held them tried to find 
solider ground to stand on than was supplied by the re- 
ligion of the day and to clear men's minds from its super- 
stitions. Pericles sympathized with this aim, but he did 
not carry the citizens along with him. The old religion 
was sacred to most of them and they feared and hated the 
philosophers who attacked it. Anaxagoras was banished 
from Athens in 434 B.C. for his "impiety," and nearly 
twenty years later Protagoras escaped persecution only 
by fleeing from the city. During the whole time of the 



Scientific History 187 

Peloponnesian war Athens was torn by a fierce religious 
contro\-ersy centring round the doctrines of the sophists. 
In fact, these ideas did not make men better, because 
they shattered faith in religion, on which people de- 
pended, and put nothing in its place. Nor did the 
prevailing interest in politics help; it rather harmed. 
Men grew hard and grasping in their ambitions; their 
love of country made them selfish in her defence and for 
her glory. Some one has called attention to three dark Dark side 
spots upon this enlightened Athenian society: (i) The °ia„ 
putting of slaves to torture before taking their testimony character, 
in a court of law; (2) the ruthless slaughter of prisoners 
taken in war, and the selling of captive women and chil- 
dren into slavery; (3) the want of respect for old age. 
We have already observed the position of woman (§ 202). 
In all this we must not judge too harshly, but rather 
remember that people do not go forward in all things at 
one time. In Athens the new learning was breaking down 
the old customs before building up new ones. While the 
childish things of the old religion and morals were being 
put away, more reasonable ideas were slow in gaining 
ground. 

226. Characteristic Figures. — Four great men of this 
period illustrate the spiritual temper of Athens in its 
lighter and darker sides. 

227. Thucydides Compared with Herodotus. — Thucyd- 
ides* (about 471-399 B.C.) was the Athenian general who, 
failing to keep Brasidas out of Amphipolis (§ 221), was 
banished from Athens and was in exile for twenty years. 
He improved this time in gathering materials for and writ- 
ing a History of the Peloponnesian War. He wrote during 

* Not the same as the son of Melesias (§ 213). 



188 Peloponnesian War 

the latter years of Herodotus (§ 208), but a whole world 
separates their histories from one another. Herodotus de- 
scribes; Thucydides gives the inner meaning. Herodotus 
tells a story because of his interest in it; Thucydides tells 
nothing but what he knows to be true. Herodotus enjoys 
his work and wants others to be entertained also; Thucyd- 
ides writes for the instruction of men who take things 
A Scientific scriously. In other words, Thucydides has no senti- 
Histonan. YCiQiii or humor; he is intensely keen and hard. He 
reveals what is base and selfish, true and heroic in his 
characters in a masterly fashion, but without praise or 
blame. Everything he handles is treated from the purely 
political point of view. You learn nothing directly of 
the religious, economic or social life of his day. His 
style is strong, concise, sometimes obscure, often elo- 
quent. The history reaches its height in the account of 
the expedition to Syracuse in the seventh book. 
"Euripides, 228. Euripides. — Euripides (about 480-406 B.C.) was 
man.'"" ^^^ suprcmc tragic poet of the war-time. He had thought 
deeply upon all the problems raised by the new learning 
and used his wonderful imaginative power in presenting 
them through his tragedies. He was the poet of democ- 
racy, but of a glorified democracy which had a deep feel- 
ing for woman and the slave. Woman's heroism and 
devotion form the kernel of his Iphigenia and Alcestis. 
The tragedy of common life is seen in the Electra. He 
introduces the slave and the beggar to show that they, 
too, have hearts that can bleed. Toward the popular re- 
ligion he stands in an attitude partly of abhorrence and 
partly of sympathy. His Bacchce is a powerful picture of 
the madness and sublimity of the worship of Dionysus 
(§ 134). Men were at once charmed by the magic and 



PLATE XVIII 





Sophocles 



Pericles 





Socrates 



The Aphrodite of Melos 





Alexander 



An Alexandrian Greek 



TYPICAL GREEK HEADS 



Socrates 1<S9 

pathos of his poetry and repelled by the boldness and 
novelty of his thoughts. In all this he reveals himself as 
a son of his time — of the restless, passionate, practical, 
sensitive, brutal Athens of the war. 

229. Socrates. — One of the most picturesque person- 
alities of the time was Socrates (about 469-399 e.g.). 
Of a burly, ungainly figure, with bulging eyes, flat nose 
and thick lips, he could be seen at all times on the streets, 
as he gathered about him a delighted group whom he 
engaged in conversation, drawing them on by simple 
questions to consider the deepest problems of life. He 
had taken the step which all Athens needed to take — 
from the enjoyment of material prosperity and the pas- 
sion for politics to the search for right living. Athens 
had learned the goodness of greatness; he would teach 
her the greatness of goodness. He found true knowledge a Moral 
in the study of his own heart and the testing of his own pjjei°^°" 
ideals. The old motto, "Know thyself," was the text 
of all his preaching. In this work he felt himself com- 
missioned from above; a divine spirit goaded him on and 
inspired him. By his sharp and searching talk he irritated 
the self-satisfied democracy, whose leaders hated to be 
made fools of by him. He claimed that skill in govern- 
ment was a result of training just as was skill in shoe- 
making, and thought that it was absurd to distribute 
offices by lot, "Politicians," he cried, "all flatterers, His Con- 
cooks, confectioners, tavern-keepers, whom have they ce'^JcrTcy. 
made better? They have filled the city with harbors, 
docks, walls, tributes and such trash, instead of with 
temperance and righteousness." For his own time he 
was a prophet crying in the wilderness; one excitement 
the more for sensation-loving Athens. But his work, 



190 Peloponnesian War 

although undertaken too late for the salvation of his own 
generation, was destined to abide for all time. 

230. Alcibiades. — Among those who gathered about 
Socrates, professing discipleship, was the most brilliant 

Unites the young Athenian of the time, Alcibiades. All the vices 
kir'with^"' ^^^ virtues of the Athens of the war were summed up 
Politics. jn him; he is the exemplar at once of her glory and her 
shame. With him we pass from the spiritual forces of 
the time to one of its most potent political leaders, and 
therefore take up again the thread of the history. A 
relative of Pericles, a true aristocrat, wealthy and hand- 
some, Alcibiades was the hope of the friends of that states- 
man and the natural heir of his ideas. He took up the 
interests of the people, posing as a radical of the radicals. 
His education was the best the age could offer, and he 
shared in all the advanced opinions of his day. He was 
the idol of the people, yet respected nobody but himself; 
the teaching of Socrates accomplished little for him be- 
yond confirming him in his egotism without leading him 
on to self-improvement. On the death of Cleon (§ 221) 
he sprang into the vacant place as leader of the radical 
democracy. 

231. The Years of the False Peace. — The long-desired 
peace with the Peloponnesian league (§222) was fol- 
lowed by a union between Sparta and Athens, from 
which the allies of Sparta were excluded, because they 
refused to accept the peace. Apart from the two power- 
ful states now at one, they could do nothing. Hence, 
a long period of rest and recovery from the waste and 
turmoil of war seemed at hand. But the prospect was 
not realized; the fifty years' peace was dead from its 
birth. Formally, it endured for six years, years in which 



Sicilian Eocpedition 191 

there was constant turmoil and lighting somewhere in 
Greece. The causes of this were threefold: (i) In 450 Causes of 
B.C. Sparta and Argos had concluded a thirty years' '^'■°"'''^- 
peace, which now was just at an end. Argos, left alone 
during these years, had grown strong and was ready to 
enter the political field. The other Peloponnesian states, 
abandoned by Sparta, entered into a league with the new 
power and prepared to turn against their old leader, (2) 
The Spartans failed to carry out the terms of the peace, 
as they did not give back to Athens the captured cities. 
This caused dissatisfaction at Athens. (3) The strife of 
parties at Athens was intensified by Alcibiades, wh6, as 
leader of the war party, sought to destroy the good under- 
standing between Sparta and Athens established by the 
peace party. Alcibiades hoped, by renewing the war with 
Sparta, to place himself at the head of affairs, bring vic- 
tory to Athens and glory to himself. He induced the 
Athenians to ally themselves with the Argive league. 
Finally, Sparta came to. a battle with the league at Mantinea. 
Mantinea, and defeated them (418 b.c); the league was 
forthwith broken^up. Yet, even now, Athens and Sparta 
did not begin to fight. Each was at heart not unwilling 
to keep the peace. Each was ready for a convenient 
opportunity for war. 

232, The Athenian Expedition against Syracuse. — 
The opportunity was oft'ered by Athens. In the year 
416 B.C. she made a brutal use of her naval supremacy, 
and, seizing Doric Melos by violence, she slew or en- Meios. 
slaved the inhabitants, and divided their land among 
Attic cleruchi. This was, however, but the prelude to 
a still more daring enterprise. Her commercial activity 
in the west had long been hindered by the rivalry of 



192 Peloponnesian War 

Syracuse. Just at this time the rapid extension of the 
power of Syracuse induced some neighboring cities of 
Sicily to call on Athens for help. Alcibiades persuaded 
the assembly, despite the persistent protests of Nicias, to 
send against Syracuse an expedition, which set sail in 
415 B.C. It was the finest fleet Athens ever put upon 
the sea and taxed her resources heavily. It consisted 
of 134 triremes, 20,000 seamen and an army of 6,430 
soldiers. The command was not intrusted to Alcibiades 
alone, but was divided between himself, Nicias and 
Lamachus. One morning, just before the fleet sailed, 
the Athenians were startled to find that the sacred im- 
ages, called Hermee, which stood along the streets of the 
city, had been wantonly disfigured. The attempt was 
made to fasten the guilt for this outrage, and other similar 
sins against religion, upon Alcibiades and his friends, but 
a decision on the matter was postponed till he returned, 
condemna- Howcvcr, he had hardly reached Sicily when he was 
FiigM^of ordered to come to Athens to stand trial. Fearing for 
Alcibiades. ^jg \\{q^ ^g cscaped, and after a short time found a refuge 
at Sparta, where he sought every means to bring ruin 
upon his native city. 

233. Renewal of the War. — At last, in 414 B.C., under 
the impulse of the war spirit, the Athenians took the 
bold step of making a descent upon Spartan soil. This 
decided the Spartans for war. They sent a small force, 
to the aid of Syracuse under a valiant and able general 
named Gy-lip'pus and prepared again to invade Attica. 

234. The Disaster at Syracuse. — Meanwhile the ex- 
pedition against Syracuse was faring badly. Lam'a-chus 
was dead and Nicias was left in sole command. He 
sent back to Athens for reinforcements. In spite of) 



jyiHaHter in Sicily 19.S 

some unpleasant surprise at this news, Athens could 
not draw back, and her most brilliant general, Demos- 
thenes, was sent out with seventy-three ships and an 
army of twenty thousand men gathered from all parts 
of the Athenian empire. But his help was in vain. 
The honest but incompetent Nicias had lost his oppor- incompe- 
tunity to capture the city by assault and attempted a N^jag" 
siege. The Syracusans gathered courage and strength 
with the coming of Gylippus. After a vain attempt to 
storm their works, Demosthenes urged a retreat, but 
Nicias delayed until it was too late. At the last the 
Athenian army was scattered, the two generals captured 
and put to death, the soldiers thrown into the stone- 
quarries, where many perished of hunger; the survivors 
were sold as slaves (413 B.C.). 

235. Its Vital Significance. — The Syracusan expedi- 
tion was the crisis of Athens. With its failure the 
Athenian empire was doomed. The plague had swept 
away about one-third of the citizens; the disaster in 
Sicily cut the remainder in two. The astonishing thing 
— and it exhibits the spirit and resources of the city most 
clearly — is that Athens fought the Peloponnesians ten 
years longer before she fell. 

236. Spartans at Decelea, 413 B.C. — The Spartans, 
on the advice of Alcibiades, now occupied a permanent 
stronghold in Attica at Dec'e-le'a. fifteen miles north of 
Athens, at the head of the valley of the Cephissus. 
Thereby the city was in a permanent state of siege; the Flight of 
income from the country was cut off; the slaves, to the ^•^^^^* 
number of more than twenty thousand, escaped to the 
enemy, and all work suffered correspondingly. This was 

lin itself sufficiently serious. Then came the awful news 



194 



Peloponnesian War 



Appearance 
of Persia 
on the 
Scene. 



Athens 
Loses Her 
Revenues. 



Democracy 
Over- 
thrown. 



from Syracuse. In three particulars its effects were at 
once felt. 

237. Persia Joins in the War.— In the first place, 
now that the Athenian navy was destroyed, Persia thought 
the time come to make good the losses sustained between 
480 and 448 B.C. Hence she determined to take a hand 
in the war. Artaxerxes I, the maker and lover of peace, 
was dead, and his son, Darius II, was on the throne (424- 
404) B.C. His satraps, Pharn-a-baz'us and Tis-sa-pher'- 
nes, were directed to recover the Great King's posses- 
sions on the coast of Asia Minor. Persia had what the 
Spartans lacked — -money. With money the Peloponne- 
sians could build, equip and maintain a fleet and meet 
Athens on the sea. 

238. Revolt of Allies. — In the second place the Athe- 
nian allies broke out in revolt the moment a hope of suc- 
cess presented itself. This meant to sever the main 
artery of the state; for now that Attica was lost it was 
from the empire alone that Athens drew its revenues, 
from their transmarine investments and commerce that 
the citizens gained their livelihood. The loss of reve- 
nues meant inability to keep a fleet, and it was solely 
through having in the treasury a reserve of one thousand 
talents which Pericles had set aside for such an emergency 
that a navy could be built at all. 

239. Rule of the Four Hundred. — In the third place 
the disaster in Sicily brought the democracy, which had 
authorized the expedition, into such discredit that a suc- 
cessful attempt was made by its opponents to set it 
aside (411 b.c). At a packed meeting held in the 
suburb of Colonus during a reign of terror occasioned 
by the assassination of prominent democrats, the con- 



Persian Intervention 19.5 

stitutional safeguards of popular sovereignty were first 
abolished. The payment for all public services of a civil 
character was suspended during tlic continuance of the 
war and a government of four hundred men with power 
to legislate, conduct foreign negotiations and appoint 
military and other magistrates was substituted for the 
government of the ecclesia, the understanding being that 
Alcibiades, now at odds with Sparta and tired of living 
in Persia, where, on his arrival he had become the con- 
fidant of Tissaphernes, would, if restored, win for Athens 
the financial support of the Great King. Alcibiades did, 
in fact, return from exile, but he did not bring Persia with 
him, and it was to the fleet, which had refused to acknowl- 
edge the new government, that he came. The govern- 
ment of the four hundred then tried to betray Athens to 
Sparta, whereupon it was set aside by a general movement 
headed by The-ram'e-nes, one of its own members; and 
after a year's interval, during which the propertied 
classes alone had the franchise, the complete democracy 
was restored. 

240. Fall of the Athenian Empire. — The first fleet built FirstPerso. 
by the Peloponnesians was not financed liberally by the pieet. 
Persian satraps, who, while inclining to Sparta and set- 
ting her up on the sea, also gave sufficient help to Athens 
to enable her to continue the struggle. The design was 
to weaken both sides until Persia could step in and over- 
power both. This scheme was frustrated by a brilliant cyzicus. 
victory gained by Alcibiades at Cyzicus in 410 B.C., 
and had the Athenian distrust of this versatile man 
not sent him again into exile when his fleet suffered a 
slight defeat at Notium during his temporary absence, 
the war might still have ended favorably for Athens. 



196 Pelopoimesian War 

The disaster of Sparta at Cyzicus was made good when 
Lysander, of whom we shall hear more later, was given 
charge of its naval operations, for he persuaded Cyrus, the 
Great King's younger son, who had superseded Tissa- 
phernes in command of the Asia Minor provinces, to take 
definitely the side of Sparta, the consideration being that 
Sparta acknowledged Persia's claim to the Greek territory 
in Asia Minor. So long as the second Perso-Spartan 
fleet was under Lysander's command it was successful, 
but his successor, Cal-li-crat'i-das, was badly beaten in 
406 B.C. off the Ar-gi-nus'as islands by a new navy which 
the Athenians, making a last desperate effort, put on tlje 
sea in that year. The complete demoralization of public 
life at Athens was manifested at this time in two incidents. 
In the first place, at the instance of Theramenes, the 
citizens illegally condemned and executed their successful 
admirals for failing to rescue some shipwrecked sailors; 
and in the second place they again, as after the battle of 
Cyzicus, at the instance of Cleophon, the "boss" of the 
ecclesia at this time, rejected honorable proposals of 
peace made by the discouraged Spartans. The people 
would have the whole of their former empire or nothing. 
In the meanwhile they again controlled the sea; but once 
more Lysander and Cyrus built and equipped a new fleet. 
This the Athenians in the year 405 B.C. followed to the 
Hellespont. They took their station on the shore of the 
Thracian Chersonese over against Lamp'sa-cus at M-go's,- 
pot'a-mi, an open beach without harborage, and repeat- 
edly offered battle to Lysander. He chose his own time, 
however, and falling unexpectedly upon the Athenian 
navy captured it and its crew almost without a blow. 
This was followed by the surrender of Athens (404 B.C.), 



Lysander 



197 



the entrance of the Peloponncsians and the pulh'ng down jEgos- 
of the Long Walls— a day of triunii)h for Sparta, heralded f°'^;"' ""•* 

'^ _ ^ •' ^ ^ ' the Fall of 

as "the beginning of freedom for Greece." Athens. 

241. Character of Lysander. — The two chief actors 
during these years were the Athenian Alcibiades and 
Lysander the Spartan. The unprincipled conduct of 
the former has been described already in the narrative 




of the war. Shortly after it was over, he was murdered 
by the Persians among whom he had taken refuge. 
Lysander was the Spartan Alcibiades, a brilliant, cruel, 
selfish politician and general. His purpose was the same 
as that of his Athenian contemporary, to help his state 
with the idea of making himself the first man in it. As 
the friend of Cyrus, he wielded Persian influence in be- 
half of Sparta and won the final victory which brought 
Athens low. At the close of the war, he was the greatest 
man in Greece, and all his ambitions seemed about to be 
fulfilled. 



198 



Peloponnesian JVar 



Heroism of 
the Demos. 



Demos De- 
moralized 
by War. 



242. Failure of Democracy in Foreign Politics. — ■ 

Nothing in history is more amazing and heartrending 
than the spectacle of Athens during these ten years. It 
is amazing to see the democracy struggling on with stern 
determination against an inevitable fate, spending their 
last resources to equip a fleet, and on its destruction 
making yet another desperate effort to face their foes, 
and yielding only when the treasury was empty, the citi- 
zen body reduced to a fraction of its numbers, the sub- 
ject cities lost, the food supply cut off, the people perish- 
ing from famine. However admirable this exhibition of 
heroism may be, we are bound to recognize that as the 
war progressed the Athenian demos lost a just apprecia- 
tion of the relative material strength of itself and its ad- 
versaries. To its inability to decide on peace when peace 
was necessary; in other words, to its inability to choose 
the right policy in foreign affairs we must attribute a large 
share of the responsibility for the fall of its brilliant empire. 

243. Internal Evils of Democracy. — There were, in- 
deed, serious defects in the Athenian constitution, the 
chief of which was the inequality of the burdens borne 
by citizens. The rich were called on for large contribu- 
tions for the support of the state (§ 210), while the poor, 
having equal rights, were paid for their service. The 
attitude of Athens toward her subject cities was also a 
fundamental weakness in her foreign policy (§ 213), so 
that in her dire extremity they deserted her. But none of 
these things, not Athenian democratic institutions, nor 
the superiority of Sparta, nor the money of Persia, brought 
her low. The want of uprightness and honesty in her 
leaders; the preferring of cleverness to character; the 
placing of self and party above country and duty; in a 



Fall of Athens 199 

word, the social and political demoralization incident to 
the long war — this was the dry-rot at the heart of Athens 
that linally brought the imperial structure to ruin. Far 
more instructive than any lessons from the eastern em- 
pires are the magnificent achievement and the pitiful col- 
lapse of the Athenian empire. 

244. Terms of Athens's Surrender. — The terms on 
which Sparta received the submission of Athens were 
these; the fortifications of the Pin-eus and the Long Walls 
were to be pulled down; all the ships but twelve were to 
be given up; all exiles were to return; the supremacy of 
Sparta was to be acknowledged; the friends and foes of 
the Spartans were to be Athens's friends and foes, and 
war contributions of money and men were to be made 
when Sparta demanded them. These conditions reveal The 
the Spartan programme: (i) to secure for all Greek cities 
freedom from outside interference — for this purpose gramme 
Athens was made powerless, (2) to establish Sparta's 
headship over all these cities in the spirit of the old 
Peloponnesian league (§ 154). 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following famous: 
Nicias, Demosthenes, Brasidas, Gylippus, Thucydides, Soc- 
rates, Euripides, Cyrus the Younger, Lamachus, Protagoras? 
2. What events are connected with the following : Amphipolis, 
Man tinea, Decelea, ^Egospotami? 3. What is meant by So- 
phist, Hermae, demos, "all things flow"? 4. What are the 
dates of the three periods of the war? of Pylos, Syracusan 
expedition, ^gospotami? 5. Explain the attitude of the Athe- 
nian assembly on the occasion of Lesbos's revolt. 6. How 
did the news of the disaster at Syracuse affect Athens? 7. 
What were the reasons for Athens refusing Sparta's honorable 
proposals of peace after Cyzicus? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare Themistocles (sS^ t^'S, 
1S4, 187) and Alcibiades as political leaders. 2. Compare the 



Spartan 
Pro- 



200 The Sparian Empire 

Athenian method of declaring war, making peace and appoint- 
ing generals with our own. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Peloponnesian War: 
Preliminaries and First Period. Bury, ch. lo. 2. The Second 
Period: the Sicilian Expedition. Bury, pp. 458-484. 3. The 
Third Period. Bury, pp. 484-506. 4. The Sophists. Bury, 
pp. 385-389. 5. Socrates. Bury, pp. 576-581. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Pelopon- 
nesian War: Preliminaries and First Period. Zimmern, ch. 
15; Shuckburgh, pp. 217-235; Botsford, pp. 190-205. 2. The 
Second Period : the Sicilian Expedition. Zimmern, pp. 270-282; 
Shuckburgh, pp. 238-248; Botsford, pp. 208-216. 3. The Third 
Period. Zimmern, ch. 17; Botsford, pp. 227-238; Shuckburgh, 
pp. 248-259. 4. The New Thought at Athens. Botsford, pp. 
217-227. 5. Aristophanes. Jebb, pp. 96-100; Capps, ch. 11; 
Murray, pp. 280-293. 6. Thucydides. Jebb, pp. 106-109; Capps, 
pp. 317-330; Murray, ch. 8. 7. Euripides. Jebb, pp. 88-94; 
Capps, ch. 10; Murray, ch. 12. 8. Socrates. Jebb. p. 125; Shuck- 
burgh, pp. 264-266; Murray, pp. 170-177; Moray, pp. 290-291 

245. Other Imperial Attempts. — Sparta's headship 
naturally carried with it the reappearance everywhere of 
that class of citizens and of that form of government with 

Renewal of which Sparta Was in sympathy. The aristocracy took 
Oligarchy, (-j^^j-gg Qf affairs, destroyed democracy and established 
oligarchies in the place of the democratic governments 
that characterized Athenian rule. The usual form of 
these oligarchies was the decarchy, or the rule of ten 
aristocratic citizens. A peculiar form was that at Athens, 
where thirty men reorganized the government. 

246. Failure of the Programme. — But it was impos- 
sible to combine the two parts of the Spartan programme 
(§ 244). The events of the last fifty years made it diffi- 
cult to force the demos back into obscurity, and Sparta's 
aristocratic friends were compelled to depend on Spartan 
help to sustain them in office. Moreover, Sparta had 



The Thirty Tyrants 201 

been infected by Athens with the imperial fever; her 
great general, Lysander, openly worked to secure Spartan 
supremacy. Thus, in many cities the decarchy had by spartaSup- 
its side a Spartan harmost, or overseer, at the head of a g°rchies." 
body of troops, who represented the real power of the 
state. Supported by this military authority, the aristo- 
crats took bloody revenge everywhere for the wrongs of 
years, killing the democratic leaders and seizing their 
property, while the Spartan commander looked calmly 
on or aided the avengers. 

247. The Thirty at Athens, 404-403 B.C. — At Athens 
a regular reign of terror was carried on by the "Thirty" 
with the support of a Spartan garrison on the Acropolis. 
Strictly they were appointed at the instigation of Lysander 
to frame a new constitution. Chief among them were 
Critias, one of the exiled nobles and a disciple of the 
"new learning," and Theramenes, the leader of the mod- 
erate wing of the aristocratic faction at the time of the 
four hundred. The thirty had no thought of bringing 
in a new constitution, but their intention was to prolong 
their term of rule indefinitely. To this end they soon 
began to expel their opponents, especially the promi- 
nent democrats. Numbers were slain that their property 
might be confiscated. In these murders and confisca- 
tions Critias and Theramenes at first agreed, but on 
the question of the continuation of this extreme policy 
Theramenes deserted his colleague. To break the force 
of his agitation Critias broadened the government so as 
to include three thousand men in a list of privileged 
citizens. However, this half-way measure did not re- 
move discontent. An open rupture occurred between Thera- 

. menes "the 

Critias and Theramenes, the latter bemg- denounced as Trimmer." 



202 The Spartan Empire 

a "turncoat." Theramenes defended himself valiantly, 
but the brute force of his adversary prevailed, and he 
was compelled to drink the fatal hemlock. Meanwhile, 
the exiles whom the thirty had banished were increasing 
in numbers. Many found refuge in Thebes, and of these 
a group under the lead of Thrasybulus seized Phy'le, on 
the slopes of Mt. Par'nes. The thirty were beaten in 
an attempt to dislodge them; nor were they more suc- 
cessful when in the spring of 403 B.C. they tried to re- 
cover the Piraeus which Thrasybulus and his comrades 
had occupied by surprise. Critias was among the slain. 
Even then another oligarchy would have been set up 
had not Pausanias, the Spartan king, who was hostile 
to Lysander, secured for the Athenians freedom to re- 
organize their government as a somewhat conservative 
democracy. 

248. Lysander's Imperial Policy. — Elsewhere Lysan- 
der set up decarchies and planted Spartan garrisons, 
sailing up and down the ^gean sea, levying tribute and 
practically subjugating, instead of freeing, the cities. 
Thus the Greek world found that the victory over Athens 
resulted only in the setting up of a heartless and narrow- 
minded power, whose aim was a supremacy more thor- 
ough and selfish than ever. This could not fail to be 
clearly seen, when it became known that the condition 
on which Persia had taken Sparta's side was that Sparta 
should hand the Greek cities on the Asia Minor coast 
over to Persia. Not only the Spartans then— the Spar- 
tans and the Persians were lords of the Greek states. 

249. Affairs in Sicily. — In sympathy with Sparta was 
yet another power in the Greek world. Ever since 
the successful defence of Syracuse against the Athe- 



Dionysius of Syi^acuse 203 

nians the Greek cities of Sicily had been hving in peacC; 
with increasing wealth and prosperity, under democratic 
constitutions. But Carthage, the Phoenician metropolis The Car- 
of north Africa, who had kept her hands from Sicily prowem" 
since the defeat of Himera (§ 176), took advantage of a 
local quarrel to invade Sicily in 409 B.C. In the struggles 
which followed, it seemed as if all Greek Sicily would fall 
under the Carthaginian supremacy. Deliverance was 
wrought by a citizen of Syracuse, of humble origin, but 
of remarkable political and military gifts, Dionysius. The Em- 
He made himself tyrant of Syracuse, and in a series of cTonygju^ 
wars with the Carthaginians forced them back and con- 
fined their possessions to the western end of the island. 
During his long reign (405-367 B.C.), Syracuse became 
the greatest city of the Greek world. Dionysius forti- 
fied it strongly, adorned it magnificently and made it 
the centre of an empire which embraced a large part of 
Greek Italy, as well as islands and colonies in the upper 
Adriatic sea. His help was sought and obtained by the 
Spartans. He was desirous of entering into close rela- 
tions with, the eastern Greeks, who both admired and 
feared him as a powerful but dangerous tyrant. His 
nature was cold and hard; he did little for higher culture, 
although he wrote tragedies and thought himself most 
fortunate to have won the first prize at Athens in a tragic 
competition. His merit was primarily political — to have 
saved the Greeks of the west from destruction. His em- 
pire lasted only a few years after his death. 

250. Growth of Greek Imperialism. — The half-century 
that followed the close of the Peloponnesian war (404- 
355 B.C.) is occupied with the history of the attempts 
of the leading Greek states, one after the other, to rule 



204 The Spartan Ernpire 

over the Greek world. In each of these states were am- 
bitious men whose ideals were, like those of Alcibiades 
at Athens (§ 230), centred on the supremacy of their 
Lysander owu citics Under their personal headship. Such a man 
Agesiiaus. was Lysaudcr of Sparta, who, despite the fact that there 
were now not more than two thousand Spartiatae whereas 
there were three or four million Greeks, wanted to make 
Sparta the ruler of Greece and himself the ruler of Sparta. 
The first of these aims he was accomplishing by sup- 
porting dependent oligarchies In the various cities with 
Spartan harmosts and garrisons. The other he hoped to 
gain by making the new Spartan king, A-ges-i-la'us (399 
B.C.), a man small, lame and apparently without force, 
subservient to himself. 

251. The Conflict at Sparta. — But already symptoms 
of discontent with Lysander's selfish, unscrupulous, pol- 
icy had shown themselves at Sparta. The liberation 
of Athens from the thirty tryants by Pausanias (§ 247) 
is an illustration. Especially the abandonment of the 
Asia Minor cities to Persia was felt to be unworthy, 
and their deliverance was loudly called for. The de- 
cisive step was forced by an unexpected event. The 
death of Darius II of Persia in 404 B.C. brought his 
The"Anab- eldest SOU, Artaxcrxcs II, to the throne. But Cyrus, 
Cyrus. the younger son, whose union with Sparta had brought 

Athens low (§ 240), gathered an army of some ten thou- 
sand Greek mercenaries and one hundred thousand 
Asiatics and started from Asia Minor to contest the 
throne (401 B.C.). The king met the invaders in Baby- 
lonia at Cunaxa (401 B.C.), where the Greeks carried all 
before them, but Cyrus himself was killed. With his 
death the rebellion collapsed, the Asiatics deserted to 



The Ten Thousand 205 

the king and the Greeks were left alone in the heart of 
the empire. But, though deceived and harassed by the 
Persians, and their generals treacherously slain, they 
forced their way back to the west through the northern 
mountains and reached the Black sea. They had chal- 
lenged the Great King at his very gates and he had 
been unable to punish them. 

252. Xenophon. — Among the Greeks who accompanied Cyrus The Ten 
was a young Athenian, Xenophon, a friend of one of the Greek Thousand 
generals. It was he who encouraged the Greeks after the loss of ophon. 
their generals and inspired them to defy the king and attempt the 

return march. He has written an account of the expedition in his 
Anabasis, one of the mcst attractive books in Greek literature. 

253. War between Sparta and Persia. — When Cyrus 
planned his rebellion, he sought and obtained the aid of 
Sparta. The failure of his attempt brought down Persian 
wrath upon her. She was thus driven to break with 
Persia and strike a blow for the freedom of the Asia Minor 
cities. War began in 400 B.C. In 396 B.C. Agesilaus, with Agesiiaus 
a strong army, started for Asia Minor, accompanied by MinoT 
Lysander, who expected to control the expedition. But 
Agesilaus, though insignificant in body, was vigorous in 
purpose and ambition; he soon showed himself the real, as 

well as the nominal, master, and Lysander's supremacy 
was past. 

254. Sparta's Difficulties in Greece. — The war with 
Persia ran on feebly for ten years longer (396-387 B.C.). 
Worthy as was Sparta's motive in waging it, she could 
not escape the consequences of her arbitrary treatment 

of Greek states at home. Corinth, Argos and Thebes, Corinthian 
who had suffered from her tyranny, joined with Athens; 387 b.c). 



206 



The Spartan Empire 



Coroneia 

and 

Cnidos. 



The Peace 
of Antal- 
cidas. 



all threw themselves on the side of Persia, and a struggle 
began in 395 B.C. which is usually called the Corinthian 
war. Its first incident was the death of Lysander in 
an attempt to take Hal-i-ar'tus. He was an able man 
whom only the unfitness and disinclination of Sparta for 
empire prevented from being uncrowned sovereign of 
Greece for a long time. The conflict was carried on at 
sea also where a Persian fleet under the leadership of 
Conon, an Athenian admiral, operated against Sparta. 
Agesilaus was called back from Ionia and won a victory 
over the Thebans at Cor'o-nei'a in 394 B.C., but the same 
year the Spartan fleet was destroyed at Cnidos. The 
Ionian cities fell into the hands of Persia. The Persian 
fleet sailed over to Greece, where Conon rebuilt the Long 
Walls of Athens, and thus the opportunity was given 
her to become again an independent sea power. In 
392 B.C. the Spartans suffered a startling defeat when 
the Athenian I-phic'ra-tes, with a body of light armed 
troops of an improved model (peltasts), defeated for the 
first time in Greek experience one of their heavy armed 
regiments. It soon became clear that Sparta could not 
make headway against the Greeks and Persians com- 
bined. Hence she gave up the double contest and sought 
peace. from Persia on terms most advantageous to herself. 
The Great King dictated the conditions to her ambassa- 
dor, An-taFci-das, and in 387 B.C. the King's peace was 
established throughout the Greek world. 



The royal decree which gave the terms of peace read as follows: 
"King Artaxerxes thinks it right that the cities in Asia and the islands 
of Clazomenae and Cyprus shall belong to him; further, that all the 
other Greek cities, small and great, shall be independent, except 
Lemnos, Imbros and Scyros, which shall belong to Athens as for- 



Peace of Antalcidas 207 

merly. If any refuse to accept this peace, I shall make war on them, 
along with those who have the same mind, both by land and sea, with 
both ships and money." 

255. A Virtual Victory for Sparta.— To Sparta, as 
head of Greece, was given the task of maintaining the 
peace as the king's deputy. The result was practically 
to restore Spartan supremacy. For whatever cities had 
organized leagues or subjected other cities would be 
forced by Sparta to give independence to those under 
them, while Sparta herself had a free hand in establish- 
ing her own power everywhere. The Asia Minor cities 
were, however, definitely handed over to Persia. 

256. The Centralizing Tendency. — It remained to be 
seen whether Sparta's diplomatic triumph could be main- 
tained in the face of the tendency to unite states, which 
was steadily making headway in the Greek world against 
the old-time principle of independence (§ 216). Every- 
where leagues were forming; new and larger states were 
rising; tyrants were appearing and gaining wider power. 

By the peace of Antalcidas Sparta was empowered to checked 
check these movements in her own interest. The real sparta. 
problem was whether she was strong enough to stop them 
and make herself mistress of Greece. She bestirred her- 
self with energy. The opposition in the Peloponnesus 
was put down. A league of the Chalcidian cities under 
the leadership of Olynthus was broken up (382-379 
B.C.). A check was put on the Boeotian league by The 
throwing a Spartan garrison into the Cadmeia, the Affa^!'^ 
citadel of Thebes (382 B.C.) — a manifest breach of the 
King's peace. An attempt was made to seize the Pira3us, 
which the Athenians had not yet fully fortified (378 B.C.), 
but without success. 



and Its 
Lesson. 



208 Fall of Spartan Empire 

257. Revolt at Thebes. — -But such high-handed 
measures provoked intense opposition. A conspiracy 
at Thebes, aided by the Athenians, succeeded in driving 
out the Spartan garrison and uniting Boeotia against 
Sparta (379 B.C.). Athens also declared war and swept 
the Spartans from the sea. And behind the barrier which 
Boeotia presented to Spartan advance northward, Jason, 
tyrant of Pherae, an energetic, clever, highly educated, 
unscrupulous man, succeeded in bringing all Thessaly 
under his control. As tagus of the whole land, he came 
to possess an army of eight thousand cavalry and twenty 
thousand hoplites — by far the strongest force under single 

Leuctra command in eastern Greece. When, in 371 B.C., the 
Spartan army under King Cleombrotus entered Boeotia, 
the Boeotians met them at Leuctra and inflicted upon 
them a smashing defeat. The king himself was slain 
and a thousand Lacedemonians with him. The pres- 
tige of the Spartan soldiery was destroyed. All Greece 
was astounded. The pious Xenophon wrote of it as 
follows: "The Lacedemonians, who swore to leave the 
cities independent, seized the citadel of Thebes, and they 
were punished by the very men, single-handed, whom 
they had wronged, though never before had they been 
vanquished by any single people. It is a proof that the 
gods observe men who do irreligious and unhallowed 

Jason of deeds." For a moment it seemed as though Jason, the 
ostensible friend of Thebes, would dominate victor and 
vanquished alike, but his assassination a few months 
after Leuctra ended the Thessalian peril. 

258. Grounds for Theban Success. — The victory of 
Thebes was the result, not of a sudden outburst of ir- 
resistible wrath at Spartan oppression, but of long mill- 



Pherae. 



Epaminojidas 



200 



tary training and a new system of military tactics devised 
and carried through by leaders of genius and enthusiasm. 
Two great men had been created by the Theban situ- 
ation — Pe-lop'i-das and E-pam'i-non'das. The former 
was the leader in the band of conspirators that drove the 
Spartans out of Thebes, an intense fiery nature, of genial 
and bold temper; 
he gathered the 
Theban youth in- 
to the "Sacred 
Band," one hun- 
dred and fifty pairs 
of friends, skilled 
in war, bound by 
the holiest of ties 




Two Men 
of Genius. 



to fight side by 
side to the death. 
Epaminondas bal- 
anced the passion- 
ate enthusiasm of 
his friend by a phil- 
osophic temper 
and the deep in- 
sight of political and military genius. It was he who de- 
veloped the new tactics that won at Leuctra. Ordinarily, 
in a Greek battle the attack was made with the right wing, 
which sought to outflank the enemy's left wing and throw 
it back upon the rest of the line. But Epaminondas re- 
versed this order by making his left wing the fighting wing, 
arranging it fifty men deep instead of the usual twelve, 
and hurling it first upon the enemy's fighting wing, letting 
the rest of the line follow and complete the overthrow. 



New Mili- 
tary Tac- 
tics. 



210 



The Thehan Empire 



Imperial- 
ism. 



Its Carry- 
ing Out. 



In the Pel- 
oponnesus. 



Mantinea. 



259. The New Theban Policy. — The plans of these 
two leaders contemplated not merely the freedom of their 
city from Spartan control, but the establishment of The- 
ban supremacy over Boeotia, and even the substitution of 
Thebes for Sparta in the hegemony of the Greek world. 
They had nothing to fear from Dionysius (§ 249), who 
died in 367 B.C., and whose successor, Dionysius II, had 
little of the genius and vigor of his father. With Boeotia 
consolidated, they must gain control over the Pelopon- 
nesus, northern Greece and the sea. To this task Thebes, 
under these leaders, gave herself for ten years (371-362 
B.C.). In the north the tyrants of Thessaly were sub- 
dued, but in the struggle Pelopidas was slain (364 B.C.). 
The attempt to control the sea brought Thebes into con- 
flict with Athens and led to no result. In the Pelopon- 
nesus a better outcome seemed possible. The defeat 
of Sparta opened the way for the cities, which she had 
oppressed, to make themselves free. The Arcadians, 
hitherto split up into petty villages, united in a common 
state life with its centre at a new city, Megalopolis, and 
found protection and support from Thebes. Epami- 
nondas marched down into the Peloponnesus, almost 
captured Sparta, freed the Messenians and set them up 
as a separate state with Messene, a new city planted on 
Mt. Ithome, as their capital. But eager as these states 
were for freedom, they were not ready to hold it under 
Theban direction. They turned against their deliverer, 
and when Epaminondas came down, in 362 B.C., to re- 
establish Theban authority he found Spartans, Arcadi- 
ans, Athenians and others in the army that confronted 
him. The battle was fought at Man'ti-ne'a. His mili- 
tary genius again gave him the victory, but he himself 



Fall of Thebes 211 

was sore wounded and died on the field. With his death 

the Theban supremacy was shattered. What Thebes 

had accomph'shed was to break up the Peloponnesian 

league — to carry into the peninsula the isolation of the 

various city-states existent elsewhere in Greece. She The Result, 

had overthrown Sparta's supremacy; her own she could 

not establish in its place. Greek unity, so urgently 

needed and so steadily aspired after, seemed farther off 

than ever. 

260. Revival of Athenian Ambition. — Could Athens 
bring this about? Such had been the ambition of the 
restored democracy from the beginning of the fourth cen- 
tury. Various attempts had been made to recover her 
power over the yEgean cities. Early in 377 B.C. a con- second 
federacy of Greek cities under Athenian leadership was Empi°e^° 
proposed, with the purpose of forcing the Spartans to 
leave the Greeks free and independent. No possibility 
of Athenian encroachment upon the rights and powers 
of the allies was permitted. They united as independent 
states, about seventy in number, with Athens as the polit- 
ical and military head. The purpose of the league was 
accomplished so far as it sought the overthrow of Sparta's 
sea power, but it was too loose a confederation to satisfy 
Athens or to meet the needs of the time. In 366 B.C., 
therefore, Athens made a vigorous attempt to turn it 
into something more like an empire. Under Ti-mo'- 
theus, the son of Conon, and Iphicrates, fleets were sent 
out which reduced Samos to subjection and established 
Athenian supremacy in the Hellespont and on the Chal- 
cidian peninsula. But opposition was found on every Athenian 



Failure to 
Dc 

(§ 259). A new king in Persia, Artaxerxes III (Ochus), i'- 



side. Thebes contested the Athenian claim to the sea Dominate 



^n 



Second Athenian Empire 



Difficulty 

with 

Macedonia. 



The Social 
War. 



Conflict 
between 
Old and 
New Polit- 
ical Ideas. 



came to the throne in 359 B.C., and his energetic activity 
restored Persia to something like unity and strength. 
The Athenian advance in the north had disturbed Mace- 
donia, where, in 359 B.C., Philip had become king. By 
clever diplomacy he outwitted Athens and began to secure 
the Greek cities which occupied the coast of his king- 
dom and exploited it to their own advantage and that 
of Athens, their suzerain. This he could do the more 
easily in that in 357 B.C. the most important of the de- 
pendencies of Athens revolted and the Social War which 
ensued absorbed the energies of that city completely. 
Thus, the difficulties of maintaining an empire were too 
great for Athens. In 355 B.C. she made peace with her 
rebellious allies in the east by renouncing her authority 
over them; she contented herself with the few possessions 
which remained in the north, where her trouble with 
Philip was not yet settled. Greece was in confusion still, 
and no one could see the end. 

261. Review of the Situation. — As we look back over 
the fifty years that came to a close with 355 B.C., we 
notice, in comparison with the fifth century, some signifi- 
cant characteristics. The facts of the history narrated 
in the preceding sections show very clearly that it was a 
time of change and conflict, without any clear aim or 
satisfactory outcome. The brilliant career of Athens 
with its imperial aspirations had been brought to naught 
by the determined opposition of states representing the 
old Greek principle of the separate independence of the 
several cities. The victory of Sparta strengthened every- 
thing that gathered about that principle — the aristocratic 
class, the old religion, the dislike of democracy, the pref- 
erence for constitutions like that of Sparta, which re- 



Mercenaries 213 

strained the freedom of the individual citizen in the in- 
terest of the state. On the other hand, imperial Athens, 
though fallen, handed on the influences and ideals 
which she had cherished, and they continued to fight for 
supremacy in the political and social life of the time. 
The imperial idea was seized by Sparta and Thebes; 
the impossibility of turning Greece into a mass of petty, 
independent cities was emphasized by the various leagues 
which constantly sprang up; the new thought was as- 
serting the importance of the individual man and his 
demands upon life, upon the state of which he was a 
citizen, upon the world in which he lived. Thus every- 
where it was conflict between return to the past and 
progress along new paths. 

262. Changes in the Art of War. — Everywhere ap- 
peared signs that this was a time of transition. The art 
of war was changing. The heavy-armed footman, the 
hoplite, ceased to be the one strong force of the army; 
the light-armed soldier, the peltast, was found to be more 
and more useful. As we have seen, it was a great shock 
to the military science of the time when the Athenian 
Iphicrates, in 392 B.C., set upon a regiment of Spartan 
hoplites with his peltasts and nearly destroyed them all. 
Cavalry also became more important and no army was 
complete without a strong corps. The new tactics of 
Epaminondas were likewise revolutionary. Equally strik- Merce- 
ing is the almost universal employment of mercenary 
soldiers. The long years of the Peloponnesian war bred 
a generation who knew one thing well — how to fight. 
Many of them had no other occupation; and since 
those who were engaged in business and agriculture 
gradually lost the humor for fighting and preferred to 



naries. 



214 



Anarchy 



Factions. 



Decline of 
the Citizen 
Body. 



Problem of 
Finance. 



pay Others to do it for them, it soon became impossible 
to send out sufl&ciently large armies of citizens; hence 
soldiers were hired and the practice of selling oneself for 
war was a very profitable trade. Generals, too, let them- 
selves out for hire to conduct campaigns. As money was 
scarce in all the Greek states, and the funds for the pay- 
ment of mercenaries were soon exhausted, opposing gen- 
erals avoided decisive battles and sought to prolong the 
manoeuvres until the opposing force was disbanded for 
lack of funds. Thus war was carried on quite scientifi- 
cally and with much less bloodshed. 

263. Confusion in Politics. — Another illustration of 
this time of change is found in the politics of the day. It 
is a mixture of petty conflicts and local problems with 
great plans and large ambitions. The imperial strivings 
of each of the greater states were checked by the obsti- 
nate opposition of smaller states. Each state had its 
own war of factions — aristocrat against democrat. The 
complicated politics of the time was due to the ceaseless 
intrigues of these little cities, now swinging to this side, 
now to that. Fear and jealousy, ambition and conserv- 
atism, were contending impulses in every community. 
At the same time the problems of these states were of the 
pettiest order. They were all reduced in population and 
resources. Sparta's legitimate citizens at the end of the 
Peloponnesian war numbered only about two thousand. 
Athens was hard pressed to keep up her citizen body 
which had sunk to about twenty thousand — a figure at 
which it remained fixed during the whole of the fourth 
century B.C. The difficult question of finance was a 
pressing one. Athens was constantly on the verge of 
financial exhaustion, although she had a fairly prosper- 



PLATE XIX 




THE HERMES OF PRAXITELES 



Sculpture 215 

ous commercial activity. When they had the opportu- 
nity, recourse was had both by Athens and Sparta to 
plundering defenceless regions and forcing contribu- 
tions from weaker cities. Piracy was not uncommon. 
Sometimes the baser expedient of rol:>bing temples was 
tried. Hence came the importance of the alliance with 
Persia, for that meant Persian gold. 

264. Art and Literature Flourish. — The brightest side 
of the life of the time appears in the higher spheres of 
art and literature. During these years of turmoil they 
went steadily forward. Even in the Peloponnesian war, 
sculptors could put forth such splendid creations as the 
Nike ("Victory") by Pseonius, set up by the Messeni- 
ans at Olympia. The greatest sculptor of the age was 
Prax-it'e-les, whose only extant work, the Hermes, reveals 
the chief note of progress. It consists in the freer ex- The New 
pression of human emotion, the delineation of man as an ^'^"'p'"''^ 
individual with his special traits and feelings, contrast- 
ing thus v/ith the more restrained and heroic ideals of the 
age of Pericles (§ 205). His most famous statues — the 
Cnidian Aphrodite, the Satyr, the Eros, have perished, 
and only copies of them, like the Marble Faun of Haw- 
thorne, have come down to us. And his contemporaries, 
Scopas, whose faces always had an alert, far-away look, 
and Ly-sip'pus, whose works were all in bronze and who 
alone among sculptors, it is said, was permitted to make 
portraits of Alexander the Great, have fared no better. 
A good copy of one of the latter's productions is the 
famous Apoxyomenus — or athlete using the strigil to 
scrape the sweat and oil from his arm — now in Rome. 
As the Parthenon is the finest example of Periclean ar- Archi- 
chitecture, so the tomb of Mau-so'lus, satrap and king '*'^'"''^- 



^16 Culture of Fourth Century, B.C. 

of Caria, reveals for this age the union of sculpture and 
architecture at its highest point. The greatest artists of 
the time notably Scopas, worked upon it. Painting, also, 
took a place in the art of the day never attained before. 
The houses of the rich were adorned by frescoes and 
the works of great painters. Indeed, everywhere greater 
luxury, a finer taste in private life, appeared, illustrated 
in the pursuits of hunting, in enjoyment of the coun- 
try and agricultural activity, and even in cookery, all of 
which were studied as arts and on which books were 
written that have come down to us. 

265. Intellectual Life at Athens. — Athens was the 
bright star in the world of literature and thought. Shorn 
of her imperial position in the political world, she laid 
her hand of power upon the higher realm of letters and 
philosophy, and won an unquestioned triumph. What 
Pericles had claimed (§ 209) now came true. Athens 
was the teacher of Greece. At the opening of the fourth 
century B.C., however, things had seemed to point in the 
other direction. The backward look toward the past, 
so characteristic of this age (§ 261), tended to the sup- 
pression of the new learning. Indeed, one awful blun- 
der, worse than a crime, was made by this reactionary 
spirit in 399 B.C., when Socrates (§ 229) was put to death 
as an impious and pernicious man. But disciples, in- 
spired by his teaching, took up his work and carried on 
the new learning to higher flights. One of the most 
attractive of these men was Xenophon (434-354 B.C.). 

It is said that Xenophon, when a young and handsome boy, was 
one day halted in the streets of Athens by Socrates, who asked him 
where various articles of merchandise could be bought. He politely 
told him. Then Socrates asked, "But where can one get good and 



Plato 217 

honorable men?" When the boy could not answer, the philosopher 
replied, "Follow me," and Xenophon became his disciple. 

It was not altogether with the approval of Socrates Xenophon. 
that Xenophon joined the army of Cyrus (§ 252), and the 
outcome of that expedition, while it brought honor to the 
young leader, ruined his career as an Athenian. As a 
friend of Sparta, he was banished from Athens and went 
to live on an estate in Elis presented to him by the Spar- 
tans. There he wrote many books. The most impor- 
tant are the Memoirs of Socrates, a worthy record of his 
master's career and teachings; the Cyropedia, a kind of 
historical romance glorifying the elder Cyrus of Persia 
(§ 79) ; the Anabasis, which has already been referred to 
(§ 252); and the Hellenica, a history of Greece from the 
point where Thucydides left off (411 B.C.) to the battle 
of Mantinea. Xenophon is a typical man of his time, 
a conservative, clear-headed, sensible, healthy nature, 
roused into vigorous thinking by the spur of Socrates, 
but unwilling or unable wholly to yield to the impulse 
of his master — a son of progressive Athens taking halting 
Sparta for his foster-father. 

266. Plato. — A far abler disciple was Plato (428-347 
B.C.), one of the most brilliant philosophers of all time. 
He is an example of the contradictions of this troubled 
age. Born into the circle of Athenian aristocracy, one 
of the company of brilliant young men that surrounded 
Socrates, he would have nothing to do with the politics 
of democratic Athens; yet he was passionately devoted to 
the study of politics, and even vv^ent to Syracuse, in the 
time of Dionysius II, to introduce his theories into actual 
practice. Of course they failed. He gathered about 
himself in Athens a body of disciples. In opposition to 



218 Culture of Fourth Century B.C. 

His Phi- the njaterial and often sordid activities of his city and 
losophy. ^gg^ j^g taught them the doctrine that things on earth are 
faint and faded copies of perfect spiritual reahties above 
this world, abiding, pure, divine. The perfect life is that 
which comes into harmony with these. The death of 
Socrates inspired him to write his Apology of Socrates, 
an endeavor to present in substance the defence which 
Socrates uttered before the court that condemned him. 
His writings took almost always the form of dialogues. 
They deal with a variety of philosophical and political 
subjects and are written in a poetical prose of wondrous 
His refinement and fascination. The Republic pictures his 

Republic. {^Q2^. commonwealth, the most noticeable features of 
which are the division of citizens into three classes — the 
rulers, the guardians and the traders and producers; 
the establishment of a communism of property, women 
and children; and the requiring men and women to en- 
gage in the same occupations. The PhcEdo offers an 
argument for the immortality of the soul. The Sympo- 
sium discusses love as the supreme element in the uni- 
verse. From the vicinity of his home to the gymna- 
sium of Academus, his school is called the "Academy." 

267. Isocrates. — While possessing nothing like the 
genius of Plato, more truly a child of his age is I-soc'ra-tes 
(436-338 B.C.). Indeed, more fully than any other 
writer or thinker, he represents the Athens of the fourth 
century, its culture, its doubts and its hopes. He sought 
no public activity, yet devoted himself to the training of 
men for public life. He taught them rhetoric, philosophy, 
science and character, and sought to form public opinion 
by issuing political brochures in the guise of orations. 
His was the most popular school and he the best-known 



Isocrates 219 

sophist in the Greek world. As a literary man he was 
the creator of a classical prose style, smooth, liquid, pure 
— possibly lacking in strength and fire. As a political 
philosopher his view was broad and high. At first he xhe Greek 
hoped, like so many men of his time, that the old union ofG^e'k" 
of Sparta, the land power, and Athens, the sea power, of unity. 
the Greek world might be revived to be the salvation of 
Greece. Such was his plea in his Panegyricus, delivered 
at Olympia on the occasion of the hundredth Olympiad 
(380 B.C.). He rose to a higher ideal, the union of all 
Greece under a single leader and the advance of united 
Greece against Persia — the recovery of Greek unity and 
honor. The trouble was he could get no leader — he 
summoned one after another of the states to this task. 
But as his long life drew to a close, one did appear, and 
Isocrates could look forward hopefully to the realizing 
of his ideal. That leader was Philip, king of Macedon, 
whose career is a turning-point in Greek history. 

268. How Can Greece Be Revived and United? — 
Our study of the oriental empires has shown how with New 
the decay of the nations of culture there appear new ®°p®^' 
peoples, rude and strong, to overrun and rule their 
weaker but more highly developed neighbors, absorb 
their culture and carry the world a stage farther in the 
march of progress (§35). Such was to be the solution of 
the problem of the Greek world. In the western and in the 
northern parts of the Greek peninsula was a mass of '^°'''^'^^=' 
peoples on the borders of civilization, becoming slowly 
affected by it, forming out of loose tribal conditions states 
of a steadily increasing strength and unity. Some had 
already been drawn into the circle of Greek politics and 
war, like ^tolia, Acarnania and Ambracia. And now, 



220 Rise of Macedon 

even beyond these, in the wild region of Epirus, occu- 
pied by a mixture of races, kingdoms Hke that of the 
Molossi began to emerge. A new Greece was rising as 
the old Greece declined. 

269. Rise of Macedonia.— It was in the northeast, 
rather than in the west, however, that advance was more 
rapid. This was to be expected, since the eastern coast of 
Greece had been the scene of the most vigorous life from 
the earliest period. Here, lying back from the north- 
western ^gean and cut off from Thessaly by lofty moun- 
tains, lay Macedonia. Its people was a strange com- 
plex of races: to the north and west Illyrian, to the 
east Thracian, mixed with the purer Greek blood, but 
all paying uncertain allegiance to a line of kings whose 
capital was at ^^Egae, far in the interior, at the head of 
the great plain that stretched down to the Thermaic 
gulf. These kings, handing down their throne from 
father to son, steadily grew in power and importance. 

Relation The positiou of Macedonia drew them early into the 
circle of Greek politics; it is their lasting merit that they 
saw and valued the importance of cultivating relations 
with the Greek states. The first of the kings to come 
into historic light took the side of the Greeks in the 
first Persian wars. They encouraged Greek settlements 
on their shores. They even claimed descent from the 
Greek god and hero, Heracles, and the claim was ac- 
knowledged by the privilege conferred upon them of con- 
testing in the Olympic games. 

The First 2*jo. Giowth of Macedonian National Life. — Brought 

thus into close contact with the intense spirit of Greek 
national life and culture, the Macedonian king and his 
people naturally were inspired to develop their own 



to Greece. 



National 
Problems. 



King Philip 221 

nationality. Two things were necessary for this result. 
First, the loose attachment of the tribes in the west and 
north must be turned into a firm allegiance to the sov- 
ereign. Second, the sea-coast must be secured. The first 
of these was undertaken in a series of military opera- 
tions carried on by king after king with very moderate 
success. The second meant obtaining supremacy over 
the flourishing Greek cities which, for centuries planted 
on the peninsulas of Chalcidice, had monopolized the rich 
trade with the interior. As most of the cities belonged to 
the Athenian empire, the kings were involved in diffi- 
culties with Athens. This complication bound them up 
even more closely with the political and military move- 
ments of the Greek world. Thus, little by little, Mace- 
donia was being prepared to grapple decisively with the 
problem that Athens, Sparta and Thebes in turn had laid 
down. 

271. King Philip. — At this crisis Philip was on the 
throne, a man in genius and energy fully equal to the 
situation. He brought to a successful end the unifying of 
his kingdom. By a series of tremendous campaigns in 
west and north and east, he broke down the resistance of 
the rude and warlike Illyrian tribes, drove back or ab- 
sorbed the Thracians and welded all into a living and 
concordant unity. The nation that sprang into full 
life was animated by a common spirit of military zeal 
and- personal loyalty to the king. A new army was His Army, 
formed and trained to a perfection never before reached. 
He drew the Macedonian peasantry into military service, 
and by joining them as infantry to the aristocratic cavalry 
he at one stroke doubled the strength of his army and 
freed himself from dependence upon his nobles. All 



222 Rise ofMacedon 

told he controlled an army of three to four thousand 
horse and twenty-five thousand hoplites. The foot- 
soldiers were formed in close array somewhat deeper 
than the ordinary Greek hoplite army and armed with 
longer spears. This was the Macedonian phalanx. The 
chief reliance was the cavalry, both light and heavy 
armed, made up of the nobility, men in the prime of 
physical vigor and of high spirit. In a battle their charge 
upon the enemy's flank, made as one man with tremen- 
dous force, usually decided the day. All advances in the 
art of war made by the Greeks during the preceding 
years were brought together by Philip in his military or- 
ganization. He had an abundance of light-armed troops 
and a splendid siege-train. He himself was the animat- 
ing soul, the directing genius of the whole organization. 
All the soldiers were called *' companions," and the word 
well expresses the relation to their head which he was 
able to inspire. The new Macedonia was a nation under 
arms. 

272. The Advance to the Coast. — Philip was equally 
successful in the second of the tasks laid upon the Mace- 
donian sovereign — the securing of the sea-coast. By a 
combination of skilful diplomacy and vigorous warfare 
he proceeded to wrest from Athens the cities under her 
influence and to reduce the others to subjection. With 
the fall of the most important of them all, Amphipolis 
(357 B.C.), he was master of the central trade-routes; the 
gold mines on the northeastern border were secured; the 
city of Philippi was built to guard them; a small navy 
Conquest was bcguu. By 348 B.C. cvery Greek city on the coast 
gj.gg^ of Macedonia was in his hands. The capital of his king- 

cities, (iom was removed from lEg^e. and established farther 



A7inescation of Thessaly 223 

down the plain at Pella. The completion of these tasks 
invited him to the other and greater achievement — the 
leadership of Greece. 

273. Philip Secures a Foothold in Greece. — The op- 
portunity came in an outbreak in middle Greece. The 
Amphictyonic council (§ 128) had proceeded against 
the Phocians on a charge of doing violence to the rights 
of the temple at Delphi. On their refusal to submit, the 
council declared war against them. They seized the The 
temple and borrowed its treasures to hire soldiers for ■w^"»^ 
their defence. Little by little all Greece was drawn in. 

The active members of the Amphictyonic council were 
Thebes, Locris and Thessaly. For Phocis were Athens 
and Sparta. The Phocians also succeeded in gaining the 
tyrants of Thessalian Pherae to their side; this led the 
rest of the Thessalians to ask Philip to lead them. Thus Gains 
Philip crossed the border of Greece and became master ^®^^y- 
of Thessaly (353 B.C.), the possession of which, among 
other advantages, more than doubled the number of his 
cavalry. The full meaning of the new situation soon 
became clear. Greece was on the verge of a greater 
struggle than the petty "sacred war." Philip had come 
within her gates, and he would have entered central 
Greece at this moment had not Athens, Sparta and their 
allies placed an army of twenty thousand men in the 
pass at Thermopylae to prevent his farther advance. 

274. His Attitude toward Greece. — It is important 
to observe Philip's ideals and ambitions. He was a 
true Macedonian, a fearless, impetuous, relentless, un- 
sparing warrior, a deep drinker and reckless reveller, 
yet devoted to the upbuilding of his kingdom and utterly 
unscrupulous as to the means of accomplishing it. At 



224 



Rise of Macedon 



His Ideal 
for Greece. 



What His 

Leadership 

Meant 



the same time he cherished a strong admiration for 
Greece, was immensely proud of his Greek descent, and 
estimated the favor and recognition conferred by Greece 
above almost everything else in the world. Greek cult- 
ure, long welcomed at the Macedonian court, had deeply 
impressed him. For some years he had resided at Thebes 
as a hostage in the hands of Epaminondas, and had 
studied, not in vain, the political situation. He aspired 
to be the leader of Greece, not merely for his own glory 
and that of Macedonia, not that he might plant his foot 
on the neck of Greek freedom, but rather because he was, 
in a kind of romantic reverence for her ancient fame and 
her immortal culture, conscious of the dignity and glory 
to be gained thereby. This feeling seemed to concentrate 
on Athens. Although Philip was constantly at war with 
that city, he was ever ready to make peace with her, to 
excuse the hostility and perfidy with which she dealt 
with him and to spare her at the last. Thus the leader- 
ship which he craved was for the purpose of securing 
peace among free Greek communities. He would have 
them recognize in him their arbiter and friend. He 
went a step farther, and saw in the unity of Greece, se- 
cured by him, the means for carrying out the ideal which 
Isocrates had already described (§ 267), the punishment 
of Persia for its lordship over the Greek states. It was 
with purposes like these, in which the lust of conquest 
was mixed with the higher ideals of Greek unity and 
supremacy, that Philip set foot upon Greek soil and began 
to push steadily southward. 

275. The Old Problem Revives. — Who, after all, could 
or would oppose him? Had not everything been mov- 
ing in the direction of unity — Athens, Sparta, Thebes 



Philip and Demosthenes 225 

seeking to bring it about? Why not hail his coming as 
a reh'ef from the half-century of turmoil that had just 
passed ? The answer to these questions is the same as 
that which was gi\'en to Athens, Sparta and Thebes- 
Greece will not submit to the authority of one. Inde- 
pendence for the separate states — the principle of auton- 
omy — was now to clash again with the impulse to unity. 
Strange to say, the leader in this last struggle for Greek Athens 
freedom was Athens. There were, indeed, men in this p^tup!' 
city who were not averse to Philip, men who looked to 
Macedonia for the relief from democratic oppression 
which they had earlier sought from Sparta — namely, 
the rich aristocrats. The spokesman of this group was ^Eschines 
the orator ^^schines (es'ki-nez), but he had with him ordi- ""^H'sSide, 
narily only a small minority of the citizens. Isocrates, too, 
received the rise of Macedon with pleasure. We have 
already seen how Philip's successful activities in securing 
the Macedonian sea-coast had brought him into conflict 
with the Athenians (§ 270). A vigorous campaign in 
352 B.C. had made him master of Thrace, where he 
threatened the Athenian possessions on that coast. The 
"sacred war" (§ 273) had embittered the situation still 
more. Thus far, however, Athens had done little more 
than defend herself against Macedonian aggression. But 
now she entered upon a new activity under the leader- 
ship of Demosthenes, the most famous orator of the an- 
cient world, 

276. Demosthenes. — Demosthenes (384-322 B.C.) be- 
gan the study and practice of oratory under I-sae'us, one 
of the leading practical lawyers of Athens, in order to 
recover his property, of which in his orphaned childhood 
his guardians had robbed him. He overcame all his 



226 



Eise of Macedon 



The 
Philippics. 



Fall of 
Olynthus. 



many natural defects by persistent toil, and in the proc- 
ess became not only a wonderful speaker, but a success- 
ful politician. His orations against Philip — called Philip- 
pics — and his other speeches, of which many have been 
preserved, show a combination of close logic, intensity 
of spirit and beauty of language which are without par- 
allel. The most renowned of them is the Oration on 
the Crown, delivered in defence of his policy on the 
occasion of a proposal to the people to offer him a crown 
in reward for his public service (330 B.C.). 

277. He Champions the Anti-Macedonian Policy. — 
Demosthenes had already advocated a more vigorous 
war policy than the defensive one which had hitherto 
prevailed, and had, in fact, carried the Athenians with 
him in his plan to preserve Chalcidice against Macedon. 
But by stirring up a revolt in Euboea Philip kept the 
Athenians employed nearer home, while he himself in- 
vaded Chalcidice, took its towns partly by bribery and 
partly by force and finally captured Olynthus and sold its 
inhabitants into slavery (349-348 B.C.). Now the realm 
of Philip stretched unbroken from Thermopylae to the 
hinterland of Byzantium. After these brilliant successes 
Demosthenes had agreed to a peace in 346 B.C., the so- 
called peace of Philocrates, which was sorely needed by 
Athens. But when Philip desired to enter into closer re- 
lations of friendship with Athens, Demosthenes induced 
the Athenians to hold back. Meanwhile, Philip was 
elected a member of the Amphictyonic league in the 
place of the Phocians, and thus was entered legally 
among the Greek powers. This was the opportunity 
taken by Demosthenes to launch his new enterprise — • 
the aggressive union of all the Greek states against the 



Greek Unity 227 

dangerous Macedonian enemy. He had some success; 
states in the Peloponnesus and on the northern ^gean 
entered a league. At last, the Amphictyonic council, 
unsupported by Athens and Thebes, invited Philip to 
lead another "sacred war." This brought matters to a 
head. The Thebans joined the anti-Macedonian union 
and prepared to resist Philip's march. The decisive cheroneia. 
battle was fought in Boeotia at Chaeroneia (ker'6-ne'a) 
(338 B.C.). The Macedonian cavalry was led by Philip's 
son Alexander, then eighteen years of age. Demos- 
thenes served as a heavy-armed soldier in the Athenian 
ranks. The result was the complete victory of Philip; 
the Thebans were cut to pieces; the Athenians were routed 
and ran away. 

278. Result: Philip at the Head of Greece. — The vic- 
tory of Chaeroneia meant the supremacy of Macedonia 
and the Macedonian king over the Greek world. The 
Greeks had fallen into the hands of no city-state among 
their own number, but found a master in the monarch of 
a kingdom which they regarded as outside their circle 
and had only grudgingly admitted among them. But 
Philip had no intention of playing the tyrant. He wanted 
to be the acknowledged head of free communities 
united of their own accord under his leadership. Ac- congress 
cordingly, he summoned the states to meet at Corinth o^corinth. 
and form a confederacy. The Greek cities were to 
wage no wars against one another and to have internal 
liberty, but to acknowledge the suzerainty of Macedon 
by electing Philip their commander-in-chief in the war 
which he announced against Persia. It was necessary, 
however, to establish Macedonian garrisons in strategic 
points; for the Greeks were unwilling even now to accept 



228 Civil Wars in Greece 

Macedonian supremacy. The outcome, however, was 
certain, since the power of Philip was too great to be 
successfully resisted. Opposition to it could only end 
in disaster, in the renewal of strife, which was ruinous to 
the states themselves, and could not accomplish anything 
except bring down the wrath of Philip and sorer punish- 
ment at his hands. 



REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following noted: 
Cunaxa, Coroneia, Olynthus, Megalopolis, Epirus, Pella, Chae- 
roneia? 2. Who were Lysander, Dionysius, Agesilaus, Conon, 
Pelopidas, Iphicrates, Mausolus, Xenophon, Isocrates, Demos- 
thenes, Critias, Theramenes, Jason of Pherae, Scopas? 3. 
What is meant by harmost, autonomy, peltast, academy, 
phalanx, amphictyony? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the Spartan imperial 
rule with that of Athens (§§ 185, 186, 213). 2. Compare 
Epaminondas with Pericles. 3. Compare the battle of Chse- 
roneia with that of Marathon. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Thirty at Athens. Bury, 
pp. 507-513. 2. Art and Literature at Athens. Bury, pp. 
574-590. 3. The Empire of Dionysius. Bury, pp. 638-666. 
4. Epaminondas and Thebes. Bury, pp. 625-626. 5. Macedo- 
nia. Bury, pp. 683-688. 6. Philip and Demosthenes. Bury, 
pp. 687-737. 7. The "Anabasis" of Cyrus. Bury, pp. 517-530. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Spartan Im- 
perialism. Morey, pp. 277-281; Shuckburgh, pp. 260-273; Bots- 
ford, pp. 250-268; Plutarch, Lives of Lysander and Agesilaus. 
2. Xenophon. Jebb, pp. 109-114; Capps, pp. 330-338; Murray, 
ch. 15. 3. Plato. Jebb, pp. 126-129; Capps, ch. 15; Murray, 
ch. 14. 4. Isocrates. Jebb. pp. 1 19-120; Capps, pp. 345-347; 
Murray, pp. 341-352. 5. The Empire of Dionysius. Botsford, 
pp. 239-245; Morey, pp. 284-286. 6. The Theban Uprising. Bots- 
ford, pp. 268-274. 7. Epaminondas and Thebes. Shuckburgh, 
pp. 274-278; Zimmern, ch. 19; Botsford, pp. 275-283; Plutarch, 
Life of Pelopidas. 8. Macedonia. Morey, pp. 300-302; Shuck- 
burgh, 280-282; Botsford, pp. 297-302. 9. Philip and Demos- 



End of Epoch of City -States 229 

thenes. Sliuckburgh, pp. 283-291; Zimmern, ch. 20. 10, The 
"Anabasis" of Cyrus. Zimmern, pp. 301-307; Bury, pp. 517- 
530 

279. The Passing of Greece. — Thus the brilliant 
chapter of Greek independent political life came to an 
end. Beginning with petty communities growing up in 
secluded valleys, the Greeks came to value above all else 
the blessing of freedom, the glory of the independence of 
separate states, each working out its own problems. 
They learned, also, how to give to each citizen a place and 
a part in the common life. But situated as the Greek Summary 
peninsula was, midway between east and west and open career, 
to the influences of oriental civilization, its states were 
drawn together by the unifying forces of commerce and 
international politics. A heroic war of defence against 
the conquering empire of Persia made them one for a 
season, and the resulting political conditions gave the 
opportunity to one of their states— Athens — to take a 
commanding position in the ^gean sea. Thus the im- 
pulse to union was strengthened and took on an imperial 
form. But the new tendency to empire clashed with the 
old principle of autonomy, and the conflict dominated 
succeeding Greek history. Athens fell, only to be suc- 
ceeded by Sparta and Thebes, each following in her steps. 
A similar movement was made in Sicily, where Dionysius 
extended his personal rule over a wide territory. But in 
the fierce conflict of old and new all these imperial en- 
deavors perished. The consummation of the centuries 
of troubled progress toward unity was at last realized in 
Philip of Macedon, with whose victory at Chaeroneia the 
importance of the separate city-states came to an end. 
Their endeavors after empire were swallowed up in a 



230 Civil Wars in Greece 

mightier imperial achievement which now appeared on 
the horizon — the empire of Alexander. 

GENERAL REVIEW OF PART II, DIVISION 5; §§'216-279 

431-331 B.C. 

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION, i. The fundamental politi- 
cal issue of the Peloponnesian war traced through the various 
stages of the war (§216). 2. The growth of imperialism as 
illustrated in the history of the states of the time (§§ 180, 186, 
213, 250, 259, 260, 267). 3. The policy of Athens in the Pelo- 
ponnesian war as illustrated in the leaders Pericles, Cleon, 
Nicias, Alcibiades. 4. The policy of Sparta in the war as 
illustrated in the leaders Brasidas and Lysander. 5. The new 
learning as illustrative of the spirit of the times (§§ 223-230). 

6. A list of the ten greatest men of Greece, from 431-331 b.c. 

7. The part played by Persia during the period from 431-338 
B.C. 8. The relation of Macedonia to the Greek states his- 
torically traced down to 338 b.c. 9. The part played by sea 
power in the Peloponnesian war. 10. The divisions of the 
Greek world which were chiefly the scene of the Peloponne- 
sian war. 

MAP AND PICTURE EXERCISES, i. Make a map of Greece 
during the Peloponnesian war and locate the chief land battles. 
2. Make a map of the iEgean and locate on it the chief naval 
battles of the Peloponnesian war. 3. How did it happen that 
statues like the Hermes (Plate XIX) and buildings like the 
Parthenon (Plate I) were produced by the Greeks and not the 
oriental peoples? 4. Study Plate XXII to observe how superior 
the Greek sculpture is to the Egyptian in composition. What 
has the Egyptian which the Greek lacks? 

SUBJECTS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS, i. The Weaknesses of 
Athenian Democracy as Illustrated in the Peloponnesian War. 

Fowler, The City State of the Greeks and Romans, pp. 176-183, 
245-260. 2. A Play of Euripides, e.g., the "Electra" or "Bac- 
chae" — the story of the play and its testimony to the times. 
Coleridge, Translation of Euripides. 3. A Talk with Socrates 
Regarding His Condemnation by the Athenians. Plato, the 
Apology. 4. A Study of the Character of Alcibiades. Plu- 
tarch, Life of Alcibiades. 5. Why the Greeks were Able to 



Training of Alexander 231 

Drive Back the Persians and yet Fell under the Macedonian 
Power. Fowler, The City State, etc., chs. g, it. 6. A Descrip- 
tion of the Disaster at Syracuse. Jowett's Thucydides. 7. A 
Report of the Discussion in the Athenian Assembly Concern- 
ing the Punishment of Mytilene. Jowett's Thucydides. 



6.— ALEXANDER THE GREAT 

336-32,3 B.C. 

280. Alexander King of Macedonia. — Hardly had 
Philip organized his new Greek confederacy when, in 
connection with troubles in the Macedonian court, he was 
murdered (336 B.C.). His son Alexander succeeded to his 
throne and his plans. The son was, in many respects, the 
image of his father — of splendid physical constitution and 
fascinating personality, possessing the same combination 
of unyielding will and romantic sensibility; both were too 
much alike, indeed, to get on well together, and it was 
said that the father had little notion of permitting the 
son to succeed him. But Alexander's training had been 
such as to prepare him to rule. His education had been his Prep. 
conducted under Greek teachers; his tutor was Aristotle, 
the keenest and most learned mind of the time. His 
military training had been gained in his father's school 
of arms, and Philip was the first soldier of his day. Now 
the victories of Philip had put into his hands a united 
Macedonia and the leadership of the Greek world; he 
was the general of a magnificently organized and equipped 
army of fifty thousand men; the splendid project of the 
deliverance of the Asiatic Greeks from the Persian sway 
was left to him for realization. He, the young man of 
twenty years, stood on the threshold of an incomparable 



aration for 
the Throne. 



232 Alexa7ide7^ the Great 

career; on his action hung the destiny of. centuries to 
come. 

281. His Settlement with Greece. — His first task was 
to establish his position in Greece. Here the death of 
Philip was followed by attempts to throw off Macedonian 
supremacy. Two expeditions were sufficient to settle 
matters. In the first, Alexander was acknowledged by 
the states assembled at Corinth as head of the Greek 

Destruction confederacy. In the second, a Theban rebellion was 
nipped in the bud and Thebes was levelled to the ground 
as a punishment (335 B.C.). Athens, though equally 
offending, was spared. During the same time the king 
made two campaigns upon his northern borders; in the 
one he subdued the Thracians and crossed the Danube; 
in the other he routed the Illyrians in the northwest. 

282. His Purpose against Persia. — Already to the dar- 
ing ambition of the youthful Alexander, Philip's plan 
to deliver the Greek cities of Asia from Persia had be- 
come too small. His purpose was nothing less than to 
strike at the heart of the empire itself and to take full 
vengeance for the wrongs which it had inflicted upon the 
Greeks. To the fulfilment of this purpose he now set 
himself. His main dependence rested upon his Mace- 
donian army with its trained soldiery and its skilful 
generals, all alike devoted to himself; but he had to leave 
the half of it behind him with his trusty general, Anti- 
pater, who was deputed to maintain Macedonian au- 

The start, thority in Greece during the absence of the king. The 
co-operation of the Greeks had indeed been promised, 
and, in fact, of the army of some 30,000 infantry and 
4,500 cavalry with which he set forth across the Helles- 
pont in 334 B.C., 12,600 were of that nationality. But 



The Start 233 

none the less the slightest reverse meant a general in- 
surrection in Greece. 

The spirit and purposes of the king and his generals are illustrated 
in the anecdote perserved in Plutarch. On the eve of his departure 
he distributed among his friends who were to accompany him a great 
part of his royal property. Whereupon Per-dic'cas asked him what 
he left for himself. He replied, "My hopes." Then Perdiccas said, 
"Let us be your partners in these," and refused to accept the king's 
gift. 

283. Condition of Persia. — The Persian empire, al- 
though it had sadly declined from the spirit of its foun- 
ders, and the luxury and corruption of the court had 
undermined the vigor and efficiency of the rulers, was 
still a mighty and formidable state. Artaxerxes III 
(§ 260) had been very successful in putting down re- 
bellions and had restored imperial prestige. But court 
intrigues made way with him in 338 B.C. and with his 

son after him. Now there sat on the throne Darius III Dadus iii. 
(Codomannus) , a noble not of the royal line, a high- 
minded and generous ruler, but able, neither in intellect 
nor in circumstances, to cope with the situation that faced 
him. Neither he nor his counsellors realized that they 
were no longer contending with a divided and inefficient 
Greece, whose leaders they had been accustomed to cor- 
rupt with their gold, or render powerless by stirring up 
difficulties at home. 

284. Alexander in Asia Minor. — Accordingly, Alex- 
ander found himself confronted with an army, not much 
larger than his own, led by the Persian satraps of Asia 
Minor. A battle took place in June, 334 B.C., at the Granicus. 
river Gra-ni'cus, on the farther bank of which the Persian 

army was posted in a strong position. Alexander swept 



234 Alexa7ider the Great 

across the river with his heavy cavalry and fell upon the 
enemy's cavalry. On their rout the Macedonian pha- 
lanx followed and engaged the Persian infantry in front, 
while the cavalry attacked their flanks — the favorite 
military tactics of Alexander. They could not stand, and 
when they fled the battle was won. The rest of the year 
was occupied in winning back the Ionian cities and the 
other strongholds of western Asia Minor. The most 
obstinate resistance was encountered at Halicarnassus 
where the Persian commander-in-chief, Memnon, took 
up temporary headquarters after his defeat. With its 
capture the first part of the task was accomplished. 

285. Issus. — In the spring of 333 B.C. Alexander set 
out from Gordium in Phrygia, by a rapid march seized 
the passes into Cilicia and captured Tarsus, its capital. 
After being delayed here for some days on account of a 
nearly fatal illness, he marched forward along the coast 
toward Syria. Meanwhile, Darius with his army had 
advanced into Syria, and failing to find his enemy, had 
marched through an upper road into Cicilia and de- 
scended to the plain of Issus in the rear of Alexander. The 
latter immediately turned about, and the second great 
battle was joined at Issus. Again, as at the Granicus, 
the Persians stood on the defensive at the bank of a river 
and Alexander sprang like a tiger upon the enemy with 
his heavy cavalry, followed by his foot-soldiers. The 
struggle was much more fierce; once the phalanx seemed 
to be broken; the light cavalry on the left were hard 
pressed. But again Alexander's rush carried all before 
it; the phalanx recovered and the Persians broke in flight 
Escape of for the mountains. Darius barely escaped, leaving his 
tent, personal baggage and household to fall into the 



Invasion of Persia 



235 



enemy's hands. The way was now open for the conquest 
of western Asia, and Alexander descended into Syria. 

286. Alexander Moves Southward. — ^Leaving Darius 
to continue his flight to the east unhindered, Alexander 



BATTLE OF ISSUS. 



1 Persian Cavalry 

2 Beavy-aTmed Greeks 

in Persian Employ 
3.4 Heavy -armed Asiatics 
5 Light -arm.ed Asiatics 



a Greek Cavalry 

b Heavy-armed Greeks 

Phalanx 

d Royal Guards 

e Macedonian Cavalry 

f Light-armed Troops 




'III, 



moved southward to take possession of Phoenicia, Pales- 
tine and Egypt. Tn the meanwhile the Persian fleet, 
which was master of the sea, had failed in its mission to 
recall Alexander by stirring up revolt in Greece as Conon 
had done in 394 B.C. It was made up chiefly of Phoeni- 
cian vessels, and could be subdued only by getting pos- 



236 Alexande?' the Great 

Tyre. scssion of the Phoenician seaports. City after city sub- 

mitted until Tyre was reached. Situated on an island, 
strongly fortified, it held out for seven months in one of 
the greatest sieges of history. The king built a mole to 
the island half a mile into the deep, and, by the aid of 
the fleets of the cities of Phoenicia and Cyprus that had 
yielded to him, finally carried the city by assault. A 
similar siege at Gaza was successful; the way was open 
to Egypt, which he occupied without a battle. 

287. The Jews. — While on the way down the coast, as 
the story is told by Josephus the Jewish historian, he 
visited Jerusalem. After the overthrow of their king- 
dom and their exile to Babylon (§ 80), the Jews had been 
permitted by Cyrus to return and rebuild their city and 
temple (538 B.C.). Since that time they had been under 
Persian rule and had devoted themselves to the upbuild- 
ing of their religious system under the leadership of their 
high-priests. They had suffered much from their neigh- 
bors, the Samaritans, but were faithful to the law of 
Moses as their teachers enlarged and explained it. As 
Alexander advanced to the city, the high-priest with his 
attendants came forth to meet him. The king, who was 
at first inclined to be angry with the Jews for not taking 
his side, was led by a vision which he had seen some time 
before to give them special favors. 

288. Egypt. — In Egypt Alexander's chief work was 
the founding of a city at the western mouth of the Nile, 
between lake Mareotis and the island of Pharus. Join- 
ing the island with the mainland by a causeway, he 
made two fine harbors for the city, which he named after 
himself and destined to take the place of ruined Tyre as 
the commercial centre of the western Mediterranean, 



Gaugamela 



237 



This destiny was fulfilled, for Alexandria became one of 
the most important cities of the ancient world. 

289. To the East. — A visit to the temple of Zeus 
Amon in the western desert, where the god declared him 
his own son and therefore, in the eyes of the Greek world, 
a god, was followed by the organization of the govern- 




ment of Egypt. By the spring of 331 B.C. Alexander 
started for the far east. In September he found the Arbeia. 
Persian king awaiting him with a vast army, east of the 
Tigris, near the old Assyrian city of Ar-be'la. This city, 
or the nearer village of Gau'ga-me'la, has given the name 
to the battle which was joined on the first of October. 
Over against the Macedonian's 40,000 foot and 7,000 
horse were said, with gross exaggeration, to be arrayed 
1,000,000 foot and 40,000 horse under the command of the 
Great King — a motley host, mighty only by sheer weight 



238 Alexander the Great 

and momentum. Alexander's tactics were directed to the 
breaking up of this tremendous mass and the routing of 
the enemy's centre, where Darius had taken his stand. A 
cavalry charge led by Alexander himself was the decisive 
stroke, and by nightfall the Persians were in flight. The 
king escaped into the eastern mountains, but his empire 
over the Mesopotamian valley was utterly lost. Alexander 
never had to fight another great battle against the Per- 
Capture siaus. He marched southward to Babylon, which opened 
Persian ^^^ gatcs without a Struggle, then eastward into Elam and 
Capitals. the old Persian land (§ 77), where he captured the cities 
of Susa and Per-sep'o-lis — capitals and treasure-cities of 
the Persian king. One hundred and twenty thousand 
talents ($140,000,000) were said to have been obtained 
from the latter city. 

290. Pursuit of Darius. — In 330 B.C. the conqueror 
marched northward into Media in pursuit of Darius. 
He arrived at Ec-bat'a-na, the old Median capital, only to 
find that the Persian had fled eastward. Alexander was 
now at the parting of the ways. He had taken vengeance 
for the Persian invasion of Greece. He had torn from 
the Persian king the fairest of his dominions — the richest, 
most famous and cultured districts of the oriental world. 
To the east lay the vast regions, deserts and mountains, 
whence the Medes and Persians had come to conquer 
The New the world. Why should he advance farther ? Only be- 
and iir cause a new purpose had taken shape in his mind — that 
Solution. }ig would be not only king of Macedonia and captain- 
general of the Greeks, but also lord of the Persian empire. 
To unite the west and the east under his own sway was 
now his ambition. Hence, at Ecbatana, he dismissed 
those of the Greeks in his army who desired to return 



Adopts Persian Ctistoms 239 

home and loaded them with presents. Some of them, 
on his invitation, remained and re-enlisted as his own 
soldiers. With an army which no longer represented 
the Greek states, but obeyed him alone, he advanced to 
the conquest of the far east. 

291. Death of Darius. — Darius, meanwhile, had fallen 
into the power of his satraps, who were hurrying him 
eastward, where he might make a new and final struggle 
against the conqueror. Alexander put forth every ef- 
fort to capture him, followed on his track day and night 
with his best soldiers, only at last to come upon him 

dead, killed by his own people. What remained was to conquest 
make a systematic campaign against the eastern prov- parEast. 
inces. It required three years (330-327 B.C.) of stren- 
uous, heart-breaking warfare among deserts, through 
wintry tempests, over lofty mountains. At last the work 
was fairly done and he was Persian emperor in very fact, 
lord of the last foot of ground that had once acknowledged 
the authority of the Ach'e-men'i-dae. 

292. Alexander's Plan to Unite Greeks and Persians. 
— Alexander's purpose to be ruler of Persia did not 
mean to substitute Greek ideas and customs, or Greek 
officials, for those of Persia, but rather to unite the two 
peoples in a common life. He placed Persians in charge 
of the civil affairs of the provinces, while he reserved the 
military authority to the Macedonians. He began him- 
self to assume something of the gorgeous state of a Per- 
sian emperor ;_ he surrounded himself with the splendors 
of an oriental court. He married Roxana, the beautiful 
daughter of a chieftain of the far east. He settled his 
veterans in cities which he planted in these regions and 
gave them orientals as fellow-citizens. All this could 



240 



Alea^ander the Great 



The 

Opposition 
of the 
Nobles. 



Its Pun- 
ishment. 



not be pushed through without rousing the anger of those 
bold and loyal Macedonian nobles who had followed him 
through all perils as their national leader and who dis- 
dained the orientals whom they had conquered. Dis- 
content grew into secret plotting or open opposition on 
the part of Alexander's captains and counsellors. He 
stamped it out with merciless rigor. Parmenio, Philip's 
chosen general, his son's chief of staff, now left behind 
in Ecbatana with a powerful force holding Alexander's 
main line of communications, had to be put to death 
when his son Phi-lo'tas was discovered in a conspiracy 
and executed. When Clitus, Alexander's foster-brother, 
at a drinking-bout boldly expressed the unspoken dissat- 
isfaction, the king ran him through with a spear. Cal- 
lis'the-nes, the philosopher and historian, refused to do 
obeisance in the oriental manner to his Macedonian lord, 
and not long after was punished with death. He could 
not escape responsibility for a plot formed against Alex- 
ander among the pages in the king's own household. 
These young men, who were sprung from the best Mace- 
donian families, resented their degradation to the posi- 
tion of menials which the monarch's new attitude en- 
tailed. Such disturbances, with their bloody vengeance, 
speak loudly of the tremendous changes which were 
coming over the face of the world and not less over the 
character and position of Alexander himself. 

293. Campaign in India. — One more step remained 
for him to take. Greece and the Persian empire were 
not sufficient for his ambition. He aspired to be con- 
queror of the world. In 327 B.C. he crossed the moun- 
tains into India, whither the Persians had already gone 
before him (§ 84). He overran the valley of the river 



Return from India 



^41 



Indus, won a victory on the banks of the Hydaspes from Defeat of 
the Indian king Porus, and would have marched east- °^^^' 
ward to the river Ganges had not his army stopped at 
the Hy'pha-sis river and refused to follow him into these 
unknown and distant regions. Returning, he moved 
down the Indus to its mouth, and made a voyage into the 
Indian ocean. At this point he divided his forces. One 
part he sent with his admiral, Nearchus, to sail for the 



COthule 




Accordingr to Eratosthenes 
235 B. C. 



head of the Persian gulf; his main army made a long 
detour inland through Dran-gi-a'na, while he himself took 
the rest up the coast in a march of terrible difficulty, 
and after joining his other divisions at Kirman reached 
Susa early in 324 B.C. 

294. Development of Imperial Ideas. — ^Hardly had he 
returned from his Indian campaign when he plunged 
into the task of organizing his empire on the lines which 
he had planned. The union of Macedonians and Per- 
sians was encouraged by his taking as another wife the 
daughter of Darius, and inducing his nobles likewise to 



242 



Alexander the Great 



The Great 
Marriage 
at Susa. 



Fusion of 
Greeks and 
Persians. 



His Death. 



marry Persian women. Thus, in 324 B.C., a great mar- 
riage fete was held at Susa, when not only Alexander 
himself took a Persian wife, but eighty of his officers and, 
it is said, ten thousand of his soldiers did likewise. The 
army was also recruited from Persians; a large number 
of their young men were trained in Macedonian tactics 
and in the use of Greek weapons. Their best horsemen 
were drafted into the cavalry; some were even enrolled 
in the crack Macedonian regiments.- Hostility to Alex- 
ander's view that Macedonians and Persians were all alike 
his subjects had -been already encountered among the 
nobles. It now flamed out at Opis among the common 
soldiers, when the king proposed to send ten thousand 
worn-out Macedonian veterans home to their native land. 
Thereupon the whole army cried out to be sent home 
rather than be levelled down to the Persians. But the 
uproar was soon quieted. They were too much attached 
to their leader to stand out against his will. 

295. Alexander at Babylon. — Alexander went to Baby- 
lon in 323 B.C. and was met by embassies from Car- 
thage, the Phoenician colonies in Spain, the states of 
Italy, from the Ethiopians and Libyans, from the outly- 
ing peoples of the north, all of whom, it seems, expected 
sooner or later the advent of the conqueror upon their 
borders. He himself was planning an expedition to the 
coast of Arabia, with the design of developing trade routes 
from India and Babylonia to Egypt and the Mediterranean. 
But, after a night of feasting and drinking, he was taken 
ill. The fever increased, and on the 13th of June, 323 
B.C., he passed away in the thirty-third year of his age. 

296. Alexander Supreme among Greek Heroes. — Alex- 
ander is the flower of the Greek race, the supreme fig- 



Character 243 

ure in its gallery of heroes. In physical strength and 
beauty, in mental grasp and poise, in moral purpose 
and mastery, he was pre-eminent among the men of his 
time. Of high, almost sentimental, ideals of honor, a 
warm-hearted, genial companion and friend, the idol 
of his troops, fearless even to recklessness in the day of 
battle, he knew how to work tirelessly, to hold purposes 
with an iron resolution, to sweep all opposition from his 
path, and to deny himself pitilessly for the fulfilment of 
his plans. To reach so high a station, to stand alone at 
the summit of human achievement, was for so young a 
man almost fatally dangerous. Alexander did not escape 
unharmed. Power made him sometimes arbitrary and 
cruel. Opposition drove him to crimes which are with- 
out excuse. Yet in an age of license he was chaste; 
though given to Macedonian habits of deep drinking, he 
was no drunkard. In thirteen years of incessant activity 
he mastered the world and set it going in new paths. 
While accomplishing this task he made his name im- 
mortal. 

297. His Military Genius. — -The greatness of Alex- 
ander as a general is clearly revealed in the full accounts 
of the battles he fought and the campaigns he carried 
through to success. He was the mightiest conqueror the 
world had ever seen. But it has been reserved for mod- His states- 
ern scholars to emphasize the most splendid and endur- 
ing elements of his career: his genius for organization, 
his statesmanship, his far-reaching plans of government 
and administration. Like all his great predecessors in 
the field of arms, he was no mere fighter for the sake of 
fighting, nor did the lust of acquisition spur him on to 
useless and empty conquests. The crowning and deci- 



manship. 



244 



Alexander the G?'eat 



Founding 
of Cities. 



Compared 
with Plato. 



Student of 
Facts. 



sive proof of this is seen in the cities which he founded. 
No conquest was complete until he had selected sites for 
new settlements, and these sites were chosen with an 
unerring insight into the opportunities for trade as well 
as for defence. Sixteen Alexandrias all over the east go 
back to him as founder, the greatest of which was the 
Egyptian metropolis (§ 288). It is said that he founded 
in all some seventy cities. Many of them were so wisely 
planted that they exist to this day as flourishing centres 
of commercial life. 

298. Aristotle. — Alexander's interest in the establish- 
ment of new city-states is one of the many bonds which 
unite him to his great teacher A'ris-tot-le. This extraor- 
dinary man had come to Athens upon his pupil's ac- 
cession to the throne, and from 334 B.C. to 323 B.C. he 
taught philosophy in the Ly-ce'um in that city. He had 
been a pupil of Plato (§ 266), but in his temperament, 
his method and his conclusions he departed widely from 
his master. Plato was a poet, full of imagination, aim- 
ing after lofty ideals which he saw by a kind of inspired 
vision. Aristotle was a cool and cautious thinker, seek- 
ing the meaning of the world by a study of things about 
him, not satisfied until he brought everything to the test 
of observation. Thus he investigated the laws which 
governed the arts of rhetoric and poetry; he collected 
the constitutions of many Greek states and drew from 
them some general principles of politics; he studied ani- 
mals and plants to know their structure; he examined 
into the acts and ways of men to determine the essence 
of their right and wrong doing. He set his students to 
this kind of study and used the results of their work. 
Thus a new method of investigation was created and new 



Aleocande?^ and Aristotle 245 

light thrown on all sides of life. A most learned man, 
he had a passion for truth and reason; one of his most 
famous sayings is " Plato and truth are both dear to me, 
but it is a sacred duty to prefer truth." His works, es- His 
pecially his Politics, Ethics and Poetics, have had vast ^^ '°^^' 
power in guiding the thinking of men since his day. 
His style is usually dry and difi&cult, though his Consti- 
tution of Athens, discovered in an Egyptian papyrus in 
1890, is more readable. His interest in universal knowl- His 
edge was in harmony with the wider world-view opened ^'■^^''''^• 
by the conquests of Alexander; in this respect he is a 
true son of his times. 

299. Alexander and Aristotle. — His Politics, the last 
word of Greek political science on matters affecting the 
state, taught that a civilized life was impossible when 
people lived otherwise than in cities organized on the 
Greek plan. Yet in Asia— the realm, for the govern- 
ment of which Alexander had assumed full responsibil- 
ity — a great part of the people lived either in unorganized 
villages or scattered over a wide district, destitute of 
political rights, and either lawless, like the nomads on the 
desert and the wild mountaineers, or subject to the will 
of priests, princes or officials. It was one purpose of ThePur- 
the many foundations of Alexander to provide homes for ^°^^ °cili^s 
his veterans and for the surplus population of Greece 
which flocked into the Persian empire behind the con- 
queror's army; it was another purpose to civilize the 
natives, to bring them into urban communities along with 
the immigrants from Europe, to fuse the new and the Fusion of 
old into a new stock above all by forcing them to meet ^°^^^' 
together in general assemblies, councils and executive 
committees for the transaction of pu1:)lic business. More- 



246 Aleocandei^ the Gi^eat 

over, the maintenance of the city-states already in exist- 
ence and the founding of new ones settled for Alexander 
the troublesome question as to the administration of his 
empire. He gave to the cities responsibility for the pres- 
ervation of order, administration of justice and collecting 
of taxes within their several territories and looked forward 
to the time when his entire realm would be a honeycomb 
of little urban communities such as Aristotle thought 
ideal. In the meantime he had to assume the burden of 
administering the unorganized tracts which lay between 
the cities. This he did by using the Persian instruments, 
satraps, both for the supervision of the work of the towns 
and for the direct government of the interurban districts. 
300. The Deification of Alexander. — The sole point 
in which his scheme might have done violence to Greek 
thinking was in the supervising power assumed by him- 
self; yet nothing was more necessary, since otherwise 
struggles were sure to arise among the cities, and individ- 
ually they would fall an easy prey to foreign attacks. 
This difificulty Alexander met by a genial application of 
a principle which he had received from Aristotle, that 
when a man of supreme political capacity existed in a 
state it was unjust to him and disadvantageous to the 
community that he should be bound by the laws, which, 
though they helped average people, fettered genius. 
Such a person Aristotle had taught should be made per- 
manent ruler and treated as a god. As we have already 
seen, Alexander had had himself greeted as a son of Zeus 
by the oracle of Amon, which enjoyed a great repute 
in the entire Greek world in the fourth century B.C. 
In 324 B.C. he demanded that each city should enrol him 
in its circle of deities. This was done reluctantly in some 



JDeificatkni of Kings 247 

places, as in Athens and Sparta, but in general it was done The Pouti- 
with enthusiasm; for henceforth the cities could take venienceof 
orders from Alexander without loss of self-respect. To Deification, 
obey their gods was a duty, while on the other hand, to 
acknowledge the authority of an outside king would have 
been humiliating to places which in theory were free and 
self-governing. This was the way in which Alexander 
organized his vast empire; and his first and at the same 
time his last general command in his new capacity was 
that all the cities restore their exiles. Otherwise his realm 
must be disturbed indefinitely by the discontent of lawless 
and homeless men. This order the Athenians protested 
against and the ^tolians defied; and there the matter 
stood when the whole world was shocked by the news of 
the death of its lord, the departure to Olympus of its god. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following famous: 
Granicus, Issus, Arbela, Tyre, Alexandria, Persepolis, Indus? 

2. What is meant by Achemenidae, high-priest, phalanx? 

3. What is the date of the founding of Alexandria, of the death 
of Alexander ? 4. What principle of government is taught 
by Aristotle's politics? 5. Did Alexander follow Aristotle's 
teaching in organizing his empire? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare Alexander with Alci- 
biades. 2. Compare the empire of Alexander with that of 
Assyria or Persia ; with the Athenian empire. 3. " No single 
personality, excepting the carpenter's son of Nazareth, has done 
so much to make the world we live in what it is as Alexander 
of Macedon." — Can you justify this assertion? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Alexander's Campaigns. 

Bury, pp. 747-821. 2. Alexander's Empire. Bury, pp. 785-7S6, 
793-794, 815-816. 3. Alexander. Bury, pp. 821-822. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Alexander's 

Campaigns. Zimmern, ch. 21; Shuckburgh, ch. 20; Mahaffy, 
Alexander's Empire, pp. 12-42; Morey, pp. 309-314. 2. Alex- 
ander's Empire. Mahaffy, pp. 1-3; Morey, pp. 322-323. 3. 
Alexander. Plutarch, Life of Alexander; Morey, pp. 314-316, 320. 



248 



The Hellenistic Age 



Lamian 
War 
(323-322 
B.C.). 



Battle of 
Amorgos. 



Demos- 
thenes' 
Death. 



7.— THE HELLENISTIC* AGE 

323-200 B.C. 

301. Revolt of the Greeks. — By the Greeks in the far 
east the report of Alexander's death was received with 
fear and trembling, and gathering together from their 
cities to the number of twenty-three thousand they made 
a vain effort to force their way back to the Mediterranean. 
To their kinsmen in the home land, on the other hand, 
the news brought jubilation and at the initiative of 
Athens and ^^tolia a general outbreak, for independence 
occurred. The war which ensued is called the La'mi-an 
war because of the fact that An-tip'a-ter (§ 282), who tried 
to stem the tide of insurrection with inadequate forces, 
sought refuge in the Thessalian town of Lamia and there 
stood a siege. Greek success depended upon preventing 
reinforcements from arriving from Asia, but for this the 
Athenians, whose navy at first controlled the sea, were 
too weak, and a defeat first in the Hellespont and then 
in a decisive battle at A-mor'gos opened the way for army 
after army to cross from Asia into Europe to Antipater's 
rescue. Thus reinforced Antipater defeated the Greeks 
at Crannon, whereupon the league which they had 
formed dissolved and Athens, threatened by sea and land, 
surrendered unconditionally. The democracy was over- 
thrown, an oligarchy established and a governor put in the 
Piraeus. Among the democratic leaders whose person 
was demanded was Demosthenes. Rather than yield 
to certain death he committed suicide. "Had but the 

* By Hellenistic we mean the period which fell between Alexander's 
death and the last great revolt of the Greeks at the time of Mithridates 
(S8 B.C.). 



Struggle for Unity 249 

strength of thy arm, Demosthenes, equalled thy spirit," 
ran a contemporary epigram, ''never would Greece have 
sunk under the foreign yoke," 

302. The Regency. — In the meantime an attempt was The Young 
being made by the device of a regency to hold the vast ^'^^^°''^'"- 
empire together in the interest of Alexander's family 

— his half-witted half-brother, Philip Ar-rhi-da^'us, and 
the child, called Alexander, whom Roxane, Alexander's 
queen, bore shortly after his death. Three regents fol- The Three 
lowed one another in rapid succession. The first, Per- ®^^°'^- 
diccas, erred through assuming too much power; the 
second, Antipater, let matters take their course and con- 
tented himself with the control of Macedon. The third, 
Pol-y-per'chon, found a rival for the possession of Mace- 
don in Antipater's son, Cas-san'der, and a contestant for 
his title to the regency in An-tig'o-nus, surnamed Cyclops, 
or the one-eyed, governor of Phrygia. By 316 B.C. Cas- Antigonus 
Sander had gained Macedon and Antigonus had defeated 
and slain Eu'me-nes of Cardia, a brilliant Greek who had 
been Alexander's secretary and who supported Polyper- 
chon through loyalty to his master's son. The regency 
came thus to naught. 

303. Antigonus Struggles for Unity. — During the 
following thirty years (316-286 B.C.) Antigonus and his 
son, De-me'tri-us, surnamed Pol-i-or-ce'tes, or "taker of 
cities," made three vigorous attempts to hold the empire 
together, not for Philip, who was murdered in 317 B.C., nor 
for the young Alexander, whom Cassander put out of the 
way in 310 B.C., but in order to substitute their own 
dynasty for that of the conqueror. The first attempt be- First 
gan when in 316 B.C. Antigonus set aside the satraps of the (3i6!fi^i 
far eastern provinces, even Se-leu'cus of Babylon being ^-C-)- 



250 The Hellenistic Age 

forced to run for safety to Egypt. This drastic action was 
followed up by a proclamation that all Greek cities were 
free, which caused trouble for Cassander in Greece; this 
in turn by the construction of a fleet — for without sea 
power unity was impossible — and by the reduction of 
Syria and Phoenicia. The crisis came in 312 B.C. In the 
spring of this year Antigonus stationed his son, Demetrius, 
at Gaza with instruction to hold Ptolemy, ruler of Egypt, 
in check while he himself had his main army massed on 
the Hellespont in order to support the operation of the 
fleet with which he had already opened an attack on 
Battle of Macedon. His plan of campaign was foiled by the in- 
subordination of Demetrius, who instead of remaining on 
the defensive risked a battle and was defeated decisively 
at Gaza. Antigonus had to return to drive the Egyptians 
out of Syria. This he did with ease, since Ptolemy re- 
treated without a contest, too wise to risk in a fight what 
the natural defences of Egypt made tolerably safe. But 
in the meanwhile Seleucus had slipped off to Babylon 
and installed himself in his old satrapy. 

A peace — of which one condition insisted upon by Antig- 
onus was that the Greek cities should be free — now put 
Second an end to the war for four years. But in 307 B.C. Antig- 
(307-30^ onus began his second attempt for world-empire. This 
B.C.). tinie he singled out Egypt for his main attack, but in order 

to keep Cassander employed he sent Demetrius with his 
fleet to free Greek cities — particularly Athens, where dur- 
ing the previous ten years a certain Demetrius of Pha- 
ie'rum, a pupil of Aristotle and The'o-phras'tus, had 
governed as Cassander's agent. From Aristotle the Pha- 
lerian got his scheme of government, from Theophrastus 
the main ideas for a new law code : he was the patron of 



Antig07ius I and Demetriuf^ 251 

the great comedian Me-nan'der, and of scientists and 
artists generally, as well as the head of a gay and clever 
court. 

304. New Comedy. — The New Comedy, unlike the political plays 
of Aristophanes (ij 224), took as its theme the affairs of every-day 
life and handled them in a spirited, keen, sympathetic and delightful 
way. The shady side of contemporary manners was usually shown 

up, but in a fashion to ridicule vice and applaud virtue. Its chief Menander. 
representative was Menander (342-292 B.C.), only fragments of 
whose plays have been preserved. So sure was his touch and so 
true to reality that the ancients said of him: "Menander and life, 
which of you is the imitator of the other?" 

305. Demetrius the Taker of Cities. — During his re- 
gency the Athenians v^ere exceedingly prosperous and 
were much admired and envied. None the less, they wel- 
comed the "taker of cities," expelled the Phalerian and 
fought stoutly against Cassander for the following three 
years. Meanwhile Demetrius had turned his attention to 
the main war. In 306 B.C. he vanquished the fleet of 
Ptolemy in a great naval battle off Salamis in Cyprus, 
whereupon, after assuming the regal title, he by sea, his 
father by land, attacked Egypt. They failed to break Failure of 
down the defence of its monarch, however, and reverting on^^^^t*^ 
to the plan of 312 B.C. — Ptolemy was now innocuous — and on 

T-\ • 1 • 1 ' r-^ ^ Rhodes. 

Demetnus returned to contmue the war m Greece. On 
his way he laid siege to Rhodes — now the most progressive 
commercial centre in the ^gean — but the Rhodians de- 
fended themselves with such vigor and skill that'despite all 
his efforts he failed to take their city before he was forced 
to hurry on to his destination in order to prevent Athens 
from falling into Cassander's hands. Athens saved, he oc- 
cupied Greece in 303 B.C. and was pushing Cassander hard 



252 The Hellenistic Age 

in Thessaly when he was obhged to return to Asia Minor 
to help his father; for the danger of Cassander had so 
alarmed the other monarchs, who now called themselves 
kings too, though in the sight of Antigonus they were 
but rebelHous satraps, that a general attack was concerted 
against the common foe. At the outset Ptolemy invaded 
Palestine and Syria: to be sure, he withdrew on the false 
report of the defeat of his partners and contributed noth- 
ing to the issue. Not so Seleucus who, having mastered 
all the eastern provinces and concluded a treaty of peace 
with the king of the Punjab, now made a great march 
with horse, foot and elephants to Asia Minor and there 
effected a juncture with a new enemy of Antigonus. This 
was Ly-sim'a-chus, king of Thrace, who after over twenty 
years of persistent effort had come to be definitely master 
in his own unruly country and was now in a position to 
Battle of take part in general affairs. Antigonus recalled his son 
at this point; part of Cassander's army came to the as- 
sistance of the allies, and in 301 B.C. at Ipsus in Phrygia 
the greatest battle yet fought in European history took 
place. On each side were upward of eighty thousand 
trained men. The impetuosity of Demetrius determined 
the issue. Having routed the enemy's cavalry, he pur- 
sued them too far and returned to find the infantry beaten 
and his father slain. With the death of Antigonus dis- 
appeared the most important figure which the war of the 
diadochi (successors) produced. He was a great, pow- 
erful man, kingly in mind and disposition. He formed 
his plans carefully, was an accomplished strategist and 
worked tirelessly to secure his ends. He was the one man 
in the whole group who inherited the spirit of Alexander. 
His son, Demetrius, was still ruler of the sea, and with 



Ipsus. 



Division of Alexander' s Empire 253 

this as a starting-point in 294 B.C. he took Macedon from 
the incompetent sons of Cassander, who had died in 297 
B.C. Not content with the kingdom Alexander had in- 
herited, Demetrius made great preparations to reconquer 
the world. The third attempt for the union was fore- The New 
stalled by those whom it menaced. At the same time in struggle 

288 B.C. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, and Lysimachus of ^°^ u°''y 

(294-286 
Thrace Invaded Macedon, and Ptolemy of Egypt de- b.C). 

spatched a great fleet to secure control of the sea. The 
coalition was successful : Demetrius got across to Asia and Fail of 
undertook a wild march into the interior, but, defeated ^™* '^'"^° 
and deserted by his troops, he was captured by Seleucus 
in 286 B.C., and died three years later. The thirty years' 
war, accordingly, resulted in the definite dissolution of 
Alexander's empire into a number of separate states. Its 
issue was as disastrous as was that of the Peloponnesian 
war, 

306. Lysimachus and Seleucus. — The spoils had fallen 
largely to Lysimachus of Thrace who got Asia Minor 
after Ipsus, half of Macedon after the expulsion of 
Demetrius and the remnants of the latter's fleet when 
he had struck into the interior ifi 287 B.C. In 283 B.C. 
Lysimachus reunited Macedon by expelling Pyrrhus from 
its second half, and was about to seize Greece, which De- 
metrius's son, Antigonus II, inherited, when he in turn 
was assailed by Seleucus, his rival in Asia. In 282 b.c. Battle of 
the two great monarchs met at Cor-u-pe'di-on in Lydia, ^1^'^^^' 
and Lysimachus was defeated and slain. Thus, by acci- 
dent almost, Seleucus got the greater part of the distracted 
empire, but within a year of his victory he was foully 
murdered by Ptolemy Ce-rau'nus, the disinherited oldest 
son of the king of Egypt, to whom he had given hospitality. 



254 The Hellenistic Age 

The murderer seized Macedon and Thrace, but his title 
was at once challenged, not only by Seleucus's son, Anti- 
ochus I, but also by Demetrius's son, Antigonus II; and 
a new struggle began. 

307. The Celtic Migration. — At this moment the fac- 
tious Macedonian kings were rudely reminded that they 
were not the only ones who coveted the rich world which 
they were weakening by their struggles. Behind the 
Alps, stretching from the mouths of the Rhone and 
Rhine to the middle Danube, the loose conglomerate 
of Celtic tribes had been massed for over a century. 
Now finding advance south checked by the unification of 
Italy and Rome's advance into the Po valley (§ 376) which 
they had occupied in about 390 B.C. (§ 369), they turned 
their attention eastward, and in 280 B.C. a great avalanche 
of barbarians overwhelmed Macedon. Ptolemy Ceraunus 
put himself hastily in their way but lost his life and his 
army, and for three years the Celts pillaged and murdered 
in the land of Alexander. In 279 B.C. Brennus led one di- 
vision of them south into Greece, but though it reached 
Delphi it was destroyed chiefly by the energy of the ^Eto- 
lians. About the same time another division went east and 
occupied Thrace. The credit for breaking the onset of 
the barbarians belongs to Antigonus II, who first defeated 
decisively a great body of them near Ly-si-mach'i-a in 277 
B.C., then expelled them from Macedon and made himself 
its king. Thrace, however, was lost altogether; the civil- 
izing work of Philip, Alexander and Lysimachus in this 
region was undone, and this whole district lapsed back 
The Celts into the barbarism of central Europe. Moreover, the 
Thrace and Celts crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor, where after 
Gaiatia. ^ Career of plunder they settled down in the heart of the 



The Ptolemies in Egypt '^55 

peninsula and forced the adjoining cities and principalities 
to buy immunity from pillage by paying them tribute. 
Their territory was called Galatia. 

308. Alliance of Macedon and Asia. — When Antigo- 
nus occupied the throne of Macedon he and Antiochus 
ceded away their claim to each other's territory and 
formed a political and matrimonial alliance which was 
the basis for common action between Macedon and 
Asia during the rest of the third century B.C. 

309. Egypt under the Ptolemies. — They were forced 

to co-operate, moreover, by the policy of Egypt. The first sea Power 
Ptolemy had kept Egypt free from invasion and given °^ ^sypt. 
it an opportunity to prosper; he had constructed a great 
fleet, and with it finally gained control of the eastern 
Mediterranean, dominion over its islands and a claim 
to suzerainty in Greece and rule in Palestine, Phoenicia 
and Syria. He had, in fact, formed the policy of convert- 
ing the sea east of Sicily into an Egyptian lake, and by 
controlling the harbors and coast towns from Gaza to Ma- 
ro-nei'a in Thrace, he aimed to concentrate all maritime 
commerce in Alexandria. The benefits of this wise and ptoiemy 11, 
energetic policy were enjoyed by his son, Ptolemy Phila- p^^^^*^^'- 
delphus, who came to the throne in 283 B.C. Down the 
Nile came the results of the labor of the seven million 
laborious inhabitants of Egypt and in addition the prod- 
ucts of the Soudan, Abyssinia, Arabia and India. A 
great light-house built on the island of Pharus directed to 
its mouth all the cargoes of Greece and the Levant. 

310. Alexandria. — Hence Alexandria grew with mar- 
vellous rapidity and soon had a population of five hun- 
dred thousand. It was the one great Greek city in 
Egypt. The Ptolemies made no attempt to civilize, 



256 



The Hellenistic Age 



Ptolemies 

Leave 

Native 

Customs 

Unchanged. 



A Bureau- 
cracy. 



Theocritus. 



Callim- 
achus. 



i.e., Hellenize, the natives. The Egyptians, accordingly, 
were not brought into city centres, self-government be- 
ing denied to them altogether; they had no interest in 
politics, their ideal life being satisfied by religion; and 
the Ptolemies had no scruples of conscience about foster- 
ing the native cults, building new temples for the native 
gods and posing generally as the successors of the 
Pharaohs. 

311. The Government of Egypt. — For the goverment 
of the country they used a vast bureaucratic system. 
By means of officials carefully divided into departments 
of justice, police, finance, for example, and carefully 
graded according to rank, the wishes of Ptolemy and of 
his prime ministers were carried from Alexandria to the 
smallest village in the valley of the Nile; and by the same 
agencies the taxes were collected. The chief function of 
the native population was, in fact, the payment of taxes 
to the government, and it was by the control of ample 
revenues drawn from this source that Philadelphus was 
able to make Alexandria the seat of the most brilliant 
court in the world. 

312. Alexandrian Culture. — Festivals and processions 
were organized on a colossal scale, and nothing indicative 
of luxury or provocative of lust was neglected by the 
pleasure-loving monarch. The two greatest poets of the 
age lived in Alexandria in his time — The-oc'ri-tus, the 
writer of idylls treating of idealized country life, and 
Cal-lim'a-chus, a kind of literary dictator, and the com- 
poser of finished epigrams and elegies. In the realm of 
poetry Theocritus discovered a new and rich field called 
pastoral. In his delicately wrought background of Sicil- 
ian country life, w^ith its fountains, shady oaks, stalwart 



Realwm in Art 257 

shepherds, graceful maidens, vineyards, woodland flow- 
ers and murmuring bees, he set his simple scenes of 
rustic love. In them the worldly and sated Alexandrians 
found intense delight and refreshment. Following The- 
ocritus as his model, Vergil, two hundred and fifty years 
later, in his Bucolics, brought the fragrance of the country 
to the equally worldly and sated Romans of the age 
of Augustus. 

313. Hellenistic Art. — Similar themes were handled 
by one group of Hellenistic sculptors, who carved little 
scenes of outdoor life with shepherds and shepherdesses 
or mythological personages grouped in the foreground. 
They were used as panels in the decoration of houses. 
Doubtless, similar paintings also existed. In this work the 
tendency toward realism which characterizes Hellenistic 
portraiture is also noticeable. The portraits were not, Realism, 
however, grossly realistic; the face had to possess some 
charm or nobility even though it ceased to be quite ac- 
curate. The classic restraint which limited the expres- 
sion of feeling to suggestion and left much to the sympa- 
thetic imagination of the observer was now abandoned 
altogether, and particularly in the Rhodian and Anatolian 
schools faces were carved contorted with pain or tense 
with excitement. Examples of these are the La-oc'o-on 
Group and the Battle of Gods and Giants from the 
great altar of Zeus at Per'ga-mon. Action, not repose, 
was preferred, and the artists liked to achieve dramatic 
effects perhaps inappropriate to work in stone. There 
was in this age boundless confidence in the powers 
of human beings; men became gods and overturned 
all the arrangements of society and states; they shrank 
from no tasks however difficult. Hence statues of super- 



258 



The Helle7ustic Age 



The 
Museum 



human magnitude like tlie Colossus of Rhodes were 
attempted. 

314. Alexandrian Science. — Nowhere was the realistic 
tendency of this age better manifest than in science, of 
which Alexandria was the most famous centre. For the 
accommodation of scholars the Ptolemies built and en- 
dowed the Museum— or Academy — 'of literary and natural 
sciences. To its equipment belonged a great library for 
literary and a garden for zoological and botanical re- 
search. For the support of the workers the government 
provided salaries. Thus aided, science, the dominant 
passion of the Hellenistic age, made remarkable progress, 
and its greatest names prior to the eighteenth century 
A.D. appear in the annals of this epoch. E'ra-tos'the- 
nes computed the circumference of the earth at twenty- 
eight thousand miles, which is surprisingly near the 

Aristarchus corrcct figure. A'ris-tar'chus of Samos showed that the 
sun, not the earth, was the centre of this planetary system 
and that the earth revolved on its own axis, thus an- 
ticipating Ga'li-le'o and Co-per'ni-cus. He-roph'i-lus 
foreshadowed Harvey's theories of the circulation of the 
blood, and Ar'chi-me'des of Syracuse is said to have used 
the integral calculus long before it was rediscovered by 
Leibnitz and Newton. Even if this is not the case, his 
contributions to mathematical physics , are sufficiently 
noteworthy. Euclid wrote at this time his text-book on 
geometry. All this shows that the constructive imagina- 
tion of men had free play as well as large bodies of new 
material with which to operate, and that the world of 
thought like the world of action was vibrant with fresh life. 

315. Alexandrian Philology. — The work of the Alex- 
andrian scholars in literary criticism and interpretation 



Eratosthe 
nes. 



of Samos. 



Archi- 
medes. 



Euclid. 



Science and Philology 259 

was no less remarkable than in natural science. It was The inter- 

,1 , 1 ... pretation of 

necessary now that a new common speech was extirpat- ^^^ p^gj. 
ing the dialects, and now that a new age was rapidly 
pushing the world of the little city-states into a distant 
antiquity, that the older literature — the Ionian epics and 
the Lesbian and Dorian lyrics — as well as the comedies 
and orations which dealt with local persons and situations 
should be interpreted or else abandoned. Besides, the 
Greek language, which was now used generally for public 
business, literature and diplomatic and commercial in- 
tercourse, had to be organized so that the conquered pop- 
ulations might learn it. Hence grammars and lexicons 
were compiled, authoritative editions of the classic au- 
thors issued and learned commentaries on them pub- 
lished. Epoch-making in this respect was the work of 
Callimachus and Aristarchus of Alexandria on Homer. 
Our Iliad and Odyssey date from their revision of the 
text. All this literature was bookish and learned; it was 
meant to appeal only to the initiated and hence made 
little popular impression. It requires a long time to popu- 
larize scientific ideas and methods. 

316. Ptolemy II, Philadelphus. — Philadelphus was a 
statesman and diplomat, not a soldier or general; hence 
he remained in his luxurious court at Alexandria and sent 
out his admirals and paid out his money freely in sup- 
port of his foreign policy. 

317. Antigonus II. — His chief rival was Antigonus II 
of Macedon. Antigonus was a pupil and patron of 
Zeno, the great founder of the Stoic philosophy, and from 
this stern creed the king derived his sturdiness of charac- 
ter, his devotion to duty and his preference for a life of 
old-fashioned simplicity. It became clear to him that 



260 The Hellenistic Age 

he could not be at peace in Macedon and rule Greece so 
long as Philadelphus held the islands of the .-Egean and 
by the use of money and promises kept stirring up trouble 
for him in his realm. Hence he determined to gain for 
himself the control of the sea which since 287 B.C. had 
been securely Egyptian. 

318. Struggle for the Eastern Mediterranean. — Ac- 
cordingly, he built a fleet of the great new-fashioned 
battle-ships characteristic of this age, vessels rising high 
above the water with sometimes as many as sixteen banks 
of rowers, powerful artillery and crews of thousands of 
men. They may have had on occasion a capacity of 
upward of four thousand tons. With this navy he began 
a duel for sea power with Egypt in about 256 B.C. which 
lasted with interruptions until about 241 B.C. In its 
course Antigonus won two sea fights, one at Cos and the 
other at Andros, the first against the admirals of Phila- 
delphus, the second against the admirals of Ptolemy III, 
Eu-er'ge-tes, who took his father's place in 247 B.C.; 
the first in alliance with Antiochus II of Asia, the second 
in alliance with the Rhodians, who, having first defended 
their freedom against Demetrius, the ''taker of cities," now 
refused to be subservient to their old ally Egypt. Thus 
they won a position of general respect. Much of the bank-, 
ing and carrying trade of the eastern Mediterranean was 
their reward. Shortly after the second victory Antigonus 
died (239 B.C.), and Macedon became involved for ten 
years in a destructive war in Greece. At the same time a 
dynastic struggle — the first of many — broke out in Asia; 
but none the less Euergetes failed to rebuild his fleet, and 
without it his far-spread empire was merely a shell which 
could be crushed by the first strong pressure from without. 



The Seleucids in Asia 261 

319. The Seleucid Empire. — Its existence, however, 
crippled the economic and political power of the kingdom 
of the Seleucids in Asia; for it deprived the great con- 
tinental empire of its coast lines, and prevented it from 
drawing freely from Greece the men who were needed to 
colonize its vast waste tracts and to reinforce the Hellenic 
element in the settled districts. The Seleucids were the 
real heirs of Alexander the Great. They made it their 
mission to realize Alexander's vision of a realm honey- 
combed with self-governing cities of the Greek type. 
Thus the founder of the dynasty is said to have planted Founding 
seventy-five cities; his son, Antiochus I, is known as a °^^''i^^* 
great founder also; and the work was still in progress when 
the Romans came into Asia. What they accomplished 
was to carry the Greek language, ideas, forms of govern- 
ment, art and drama as far as the eastern limits of the 
Persian empire, and, indeed, as recent discoveries show, 
far beyond, into distant India and northeastward through 
Eastern Turkestan to China. Naturally, the interests of Heiienizmg 
the dynasty in Hellenizing these kingdoms provoked na- 
tive reactions; but these were not serious till Antioch IV 
interfered with the native religions; then revolts broke 
out, notably in Ju-de'a, where the Mac'ca-bees took up 
arms for Jehovah against Zeus and after a long struggle 
succeeded in establishing the independence of the Jewish 
community. All the native religions were not so obsti- 
nate, however, and, in fact, at the same time that the 
Jews resisted Hellenization they translated their sacred 
books into Greek for the use of the Jewish community 
in Alexandria; but, unlike the oriental cults in general, 
they modified their beliefs and altered their rituals so 
slightly that it needed a religious revolution in Judaism 



262 The Hellenistic Age 

before it could become a rival of the Se-ra'pis-Fsis cult of 
Alexandria, the At-ar'ga-tis cult of Syria or the Great 
Mother cult of Asia Minor for the suffrages of the Hellen- 
istic and Roman world. These latter were the aggressive 
oriental cults in the Hellenistic period. The instruments 
for their dissemination were religious associations (thiasi) 
formed by their votaries in the cities of the old Greek 
world. These clubs were made up at first of foreigners and 
provided social entertainment in the shape of a monthly 
dinner which was at once a banquet and a sacrifice. 
They also provided the assurance of decent funeral obse- 
quies as well as business facilities to their members. In 
time the native Greeks became interested, entered the as- 
sociations and finally got the new deities enrolled in the 
circle of their native deities, whereupon all the citizens 
became at once votaries of the oriental god or goddess. 
It was in this way that Isis, the Syrian Goddess (Atar- 
gatls) and Cyb'e-le (the Great Mother) made their trium- 
phal progress through the late Hellenistic world. 

320. Greece^the Achaean and ^Etolian Leagues. — 
The policy and aggressiveness of the Ptolemies were also 
fatal for the stability of Macedonian government in 
Greece, and during the struggle of the two monarchies 
for power in the peninsula the Greeks had a chance 
to look out for themselves. To be sure the country 
suffered through frequent wars; but in this respect it was 
no worse off in the third century than in the fourth and 
fifth. It was a gain that its surplus population was 
Shifting of provided for in the new world of the east. The serious 
consideration was that through the opening of the Persian 
empire to European enterprise the centres of commerce 
and industry ceased to be situated in Greece. Athens 



Commer- 
cial Centres. 



Federal Government 203 

and Corinth, accordingly, sank in size and wealth as 
Ephesus, Rhodes, Antioch and Alexandria rose. Thus 
Greece tended to revert to an essentially agricultural 
country, and impoverishment and depopulation event- 
ually set in. Less injury was, of course, sustained by the 
districts which had never been commercial and it was in 
them that most progress and vitality survived in the 
third century. The conviction came ultimately to be 
established among them that the little city-states were 
unable to protect themselves by individual action; hence 
from two centres, one in Achaea in the Peloponnesus, and 
the other in ^tolia in central Greece, movements for a 
union of the whole country in a federal league began. 
A large territorial state such as defence demanded was 
thus created without resort to monarchical government. 
321. Federal Government. — The plan adopted was 
to delegate to federal authorities the conduct of negoti- 
ations and war, the preservation of peace between the 
cities and the protection of individuals while abroad, 
leaving the raising, paying and oflScering of troops, the 
levying of the taxes, the maintenance of order within 
the cities and the whole round of municipal business to 
the local governments. Citizenship was to be common; 
also money and weights and measures, and monarchical 
rule was not permitted. In Achaea the federal authorities The 
were an annually elected general who was at once mill- League, 
tary and diplomatic leader, a hipparch, admiral and 
secretary; a college of ten demiurgi, who formed a sort 
of inner council; a great council made up each year of 
a different fraction of the citizens of each constituent city, 
and a general assembly of all the Achaeans. This latter 
body met at least annually at Ae-gium for the election of 



264 The Hellenistic Age 

officers, but it might meet oftener for the settlement of 
peace or war at the call of the officials. Each city had 
one vote in the general assembly regardless of size. This 
gave the smaller states undue influence. The constitu- 
tion of ^tolia was similar. A difference between the 
two was caused by the difference in the character and 
habits of life of the peoples. The ^Etolians were a 
country, mountain people, active, fond of fighting and 
inclined to freebooting; the Achaeans were more civilized, 
had urban life well developed, and were averse to mak- 
ing sacrifices in war time. The one was warlike and the 
other peaceful. In both the control of the general as- 
sembly tended to fall to the propertied classes who alone 
could attend the sessions in considerable numbers. 

322. Growth of the Leagues. — The ^tolians began to 
expand first; they seized Delphi in about 292 B.C., and 
controlled the Amphictyony from then on; they seized first 
half, then all of Acarnania, including Ambracia; for a 
period they absorbed Boeotia; while a considerable 
portion of Thessaly was finally in their control. They 
remained a free people till the Romans conquered them 
in 189 B.C. 
Aratus of The Achaeans became of importance for the first time 
in 252 B.C. when A-ra'tus, who had just seized the govern- 
ment of Sicyon, his native city, in place of making himself 
tyrant with the backing of either Antigonus II or Phila- 
delphus, added it to the ethnic confederacy which some 
thirty years earlier had been revived among the towns 
of Achaea. From this time on Aratus, a skilful politician 
and adroit leader in guerilla warfare, but a very incom- 
petent general, was the real head of the confederation, 
and for every second year but one between 245 B.C. and 



Sicyon. 



Stoics and Epicureans 265 

213 B.C. he was chosen their general. The normal atti- 
tude of the ^tolians and Achaeans was one of hostility, 
but during the reign of Demetrius II, who had succeeded 
Antigonus II in 239 B.C. (§318), they joined in a war 
against Macedon, and at its issue, with the death of their 
adversary in 229 B.C., they both reached the summit of 
their power. The Achaean league then included most of 
the Peloponnesus. 

323. Athens and Sparta. — Outside of these stood 
Athens and Sparta, neither of which would subordinate 
itself to the federal authorities. In 229 B.C. Athens 
threw off the Macedonian yoke, but despite the entrea- 
ties of Aratus, decided to remain henceforth neutral. It isolation 
asked from the powers and in fact got a position of 
complete isolation, its internationalization being guar- 
anteed first by Egypt and then by Rome. It was still 

the seat of the finest Greek culture, and in the world of 
Hellenistic change it remained an oasis of classicism. 
Its art, for example, was dominated by the style of Prax-i'- 
te-les and Scopas and to its school belongs, perhaps, the 
celebrated Aphrodite of Melos. (PI. XVIII.) In one de- 
partment of spiritual life alone it had preserved its emi- 
nence — in philosophy. 

324. Philosophy in Athens. — The city became in the 
third century the real university of the world, whither 
students flocked to study philosophy. Two leading schools of 
schools of thought divided their suffrages. The one P^^^iosopi^y- 
was founded by Zeno (333-261 B.C.), who taught in the 

Stoa poilike or "Painted Porch," in the heart of the city, 

a way of life and thought which was called Stoicism. 

He held that, in the midst of the seeming confusion of The stoic. 

things about us, there was a real order, governed by un- 



^66 



The Hellenistic Age 



The Epi- 
curean. 



Restora- 
tion of the 
Ancient 
Regime. 



changeable laws; that the secret of life consists in seeing 
this order and obeying it. The chief word of this philoso- 
phy was "virtue," and he is the ''wise man" who strives 
after it. Everything else is unimportant; even life itself 
is not worth living, if virtue cannot be realized. Virtue 
can be found in one's own soul, in that "reason" which is 
man's way of expressing the order of the universe. All 
men everywhere in whom "reason" or "virtue" rules 
are brothers. On the other hand, Ep'i-cu'rus (341-270 
B.C.) taught that true virtue is found in "happiness," 
everything that contributes to make man happy should 
be sought, while all that is disturbing should be avoided. 
Hence, to him religion, which spoke of reward and 
punishment from the gods above, was harmful and 
should be abolished. This philosophy was called after its 
founder Ep'i-cu-re'an-ism. Its emphasis of pleasure and 
its indifference toward the gods brought it into popular 
discredit both in later Greece and in Rome. And, in 
fact, as interpreted by many of its professed followers it 
was an excuse for sensual indulgence. Both systems are 
illustrations of the broad cosmopolitan spirit of the age, 
which recognized no bounds of city or race. They had a 
very wide influence in this age and in the centuries follow- 
ing. 

325. Cleomenes and the Revival of Sparta. — Sparta 
met the advance of the Achaeans not by an appeal to 
the powers, but by resort to the sword, and it happened 
that it possessed at this time a remarkable king, Cle-om'- 
e-nes by name, who defeated the Achaeans repeatedly and 
roused the old city into new life by setting aside the gov- 
ernment of the ephors (§ 153), redividing the land in such 
a way that instead of seven hundred there were four 



PLATE XXIll 




THE LAOCOON GROUP 



Pergamon 267 

thousand Spartiatae, and re-establishing with antiquarian 
precision the old tent life which had fallen of late into 
disuse. Then he pushed the Achaeans so hard that Ara- 
tus was forced to submit to either Spartan or Macedonian 
hegemony; he chose the latter alternative and in 222 B.C. 
the Macedonian king, Antigonus III, crushed Cleomenes 
on the battle-field of Sel-la'si-a, and became overlord of 
Greece — ^^itolia alone excepted. Subsequently the Achae- 
ans were never free agents, but had always to do the 
bidding of somebody else. 

326. Pergamon. — It was in the interval of dynastic 
strife in Asia and of fierce conflict in Greece and Mace- 
don (§318) that Pergamon became the chief among the 
second-rate powers of the eastern world. Its third prince 
At'ta-lus I (241-197 B.C.) refused to pay tribute to the 
Celts of Galatia, and thus became involved in a long 
struggle with them, at the end of which he found himself 
for a short time the paramount power in Asia Minor. This 
position he lost in a few years, however, when unity of 
rule was at length restored to the Seleucid empire. Under 
Attains Pergamon became a rival of Alexandria as a seat 
of culture, and the king was a liberal patron of philoso- 
phers, scientists and artists. It was at his initiative that Art of 
the sculptors of Greece got a new theme when they under- 
took to immortalize in stone the victories of the mon- 
arch over the Celts. The famous "Dying Gaul" is the 
outcome of this undertaking. A little later a great altar 
to Zeus was erected at Pergamon, the frieze of which, 
now in Berlin, is the best monument extant of Hellenistic 
sculpture. It deals with the struggle of Gods and Giants. 
Full of vigor and vitality, it is inferior to the work of the 
classic age only in the lack of simplicity and grace. 



Pergamon, 



268 The Coming of Rome 

327. The Crisis of Hellenistic History. — About 220 
B.C. three young men came to the thrones of the three 

Philip V great Hellenistic monarchies. Philip V, the new king 
ome. ^^ Macedon, became at once involved in a fierce struggle 
with the iEtolians, which he abandoned (after Cannae) 
to join Hannibal against Rome. Till 205 B.C. he was 
fully employed by the war with the yEtolians and Attalus 
of Pergamon which the Romans stirred up against him 
to keep him employed while they fought it out with 
Carthage. In that year, however, he became free by 

Antiochus making a peace with the Italian republic. The young 
king of Asia, Antiochus III, the Great, opened his reign 
by an attack on Egypt, and but for a revolt in his eastern 
provinces, which gave his adversary time to prepare, the 
defeat which he sustained at Raphia in 218 B.C. might 
have been a victory. For thirteen years thereafter he 
was actively employed in reasserting his authority in his 
own empire, which a long dynastic struggle and foreign 
embarrassments had paralyzed; but in 205 B.C. he re- 
turned to the Mediterranean at the end of a campaign 
which covered nearly the same territory as Alexander's 
famous march, with a well-trained army and a desire for 
further action. Two years later Ptolemy Phi'lo-pa'tor, 
the fourth Macedonian king of Egypt, died leaving as his 
successor a mere child. He had neglected all the vital 
problems of national defence ; his court had been governed 
by his mistress and her clique, and the native Egyptians 
who had fought in his army at Raphia were in revolt. 

Decay of Hcncc Egypt was ready for the spoilers. By her wealth 
and her maritime power she had preserved a balance of 
power in the Hellenistic world since 277 B.C., and in 274 
B.C. she had formed a relationship of peace and friendli- 



The Coming of Rome 269 

ness with Rome. Now that the Hannibalic war was 
drawing to a close, it was clear to Philip and Antiochus 
that in the event of a Roman advance into the east 
Egypt would be her ally; hence they determined to take 
the opportunity, while Rome was still employed else- 
where, to divide the Ptol-e-ma'ic empire between them. 
In 202 B.C. PhiHp attacked the possessions of Egypt in the 
iEgean world including neutrals like Athens and Rhodes 
which had maintained their freedom by Egyptian support, 
and at the same time Antiochus assailed the Asiatic do- 
minions of Egypt. Henceforth the Hellenistic world was 
to have two great states, not three. The battle of Za'ma 
(202 B.C.) and the treaty of Rome with Carthage (201 B.C.) 
came too soon, however, for this project to be completed. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What events are connected with the 
names of Antipater, Seleucus, Demetrius of Phalerum, An-, 
tigonus Gonatas, Ptolemy Philadelphus, Menander, Zeno, 
Poliorcetes, Cleomenes, Antigonus the one-eyed? 2. For what 
are the following noted : Galatia, Pergamon, Rhodes, Epirus, 
Athens? 3. What is meant by the Museum, Epicureanism, 
pastoral poetry, the Dying Gaul, the Painted Porch? 4. What 
is the era of Seleucus? 5. The significance of the year 280 
B.C. 6. What was the course and what the outcome of Antig- 
onus's struggle for unity? 7. What was the time and charac- 
ter of the settlement of Galatia? 8. Explain the conditions 
existing in Egypt during the Hellenistic age. 9. Describe the 
growth and prosperity of Alexandria. 10. The characteristics 
of Hellenistic art. 11. The naval victories of Antigonus II. 
12. Describe the form of government in the Achaean and 
.^tolian leagues. 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare Eratosthenes and He- 
rodotus in respect to their views of geography. 2. Compare 
the leagues of this period with the Peloponnesian and the 
Delian leagues. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i . Greece under Alexander and His 
Successors. Bury, pp. 823-833. 2. Aristotle. Bury, pp. 833-835. 



270 The Western Greeks 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Struggles 

of Alexander's Generals. Mahaffy, pp. 43-75; Plutarch, Lives 
of Eumenes and Demetrius. 2. Greece under Alexander and His 
Successors. Bury, pp. 823-833; Shuckburgh, pp. 300-305. 3. 
The Kingdoms of Alexander's Successors. Mahaffy, pp. 89-95, 
111-141, 156-162; Morey, pp. 317-319. 4. Pergamon and the 
Artistic Life of the Time. Morey, pp. 323-328; Tarbell, pp. 
259-267. 5. Aristotle. Bury, 833-835; Capps, ch. 16; Jebb, 
pp. 129-135; Murray, pp. 373-376. 6. The Moral Philosophers. 
Mahaffy, ch. 11; Shuckburgh, pp. 306-307. 7. Alexandria and 
Egyptian Culture. Mahaffy, pp. 120-131, 142-155; Capps, ch. 
18; Botsford, pp. 320-322; Morey, pp. 330-332. 8. The Celtic 
Terror. Mahaffy, ch. 8. 9. The Leagues of Greece. Mahaffy, 
ch. 18; Botsford, pp. 323-325; Shuckburgh, pp. 311-324. 10. 
Pyrrhus of Epirus. Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus; Mahaffy, ch. 2. 
II. Conditions under Macedonian Rule in Athens. Ferguson, 
Hellenistic Athens, pp. 207-236. 12. The Regime of Demetrius 
of Phalerum. Ferguson, pp. 38-94. 



8.— THE WESTERN GREEKS. THE TRANSI- 
TION TO ROME 

350-275 B.C. 

Danger of 328. Timoleon. — The dissolution of the empire of 
Greeks.^ Dionysius II in 357-346 B.C. had brought with it anarchy 
in Sicily and grave peril in Magna Grascia. What the 
likely consequences were Plato, the philosopher, foresaw 
when in a letter written in 352 B.C. he said: "Should 
things continue, no end is attainable until the whole pop- 
ulation is ruined, the Greek language disappears from 
all Sicily and the island falls under the dominion of 
the Phoenicians or the Italians." The impending disaster 
was postponed for over two generations, however, by 
help given time and again by the eastern Greeks. The 
first rescuer was the Corinthian Ti-mo'le-on who came on 
the invitation of the Syracusans in 345 B.C. to free the 



PLATE XXIV 




The Greek Temple at Paestum 




Italians and Magna Grcecia 271 

Sicilian cities of adventurers who had used the anarchy to 
make themselves tyrants. He was needed also to unite the 
island in a common effort against the invading Carthagin- 
ians. Some of the tyrants joined Timoleon, others were 
deposed. He relieved Syracuse of the enemy's leaguer, Battle of 
and, after defeating a great Carthaginian army which had ^^^ *^"" 
been sent over to Sicily to check his progress at the Cri- 
mi'sus river in 340 B.C., he made peace with Carthage, es- 
tablished an aristocratic government in the Sicilian cities 
and bound them together in a league with Syracuse at the 
head. Order within and defence against foreign attack 
being secured, large numbers of new colonists from old 
Greece were encouraged to settle in the devastated tracts 
of the island, and after seven years of successful rule Ti- 
moleon retired into private life in 337 B.C. with the bless- 
ings of all Sicily. He was one of those rare persons who 
combined singleness of purpose and absence of personal 
ambition with devotion to duty and high capacity. 

329. Italians Assail Magna Grsecia. — Magna Graecia 
had been less fortunate in its deliverers. The first. King 
Archidamus of Sparta (343-338 B.C.), had accomplished 
so little that in 334 B.C. Alexander, the powerful king 
of neighboring Epirus, was asked by Tarentum to come 
to its assistance against its aggressive Italian neighbors, 
the Lucanians, Messapians and Bruttians. Alexander Alexander 
did; indeed, perform his mission in brilliant style, and ° ^"^^' 
subdued most of Italy south of Campania and Sam- 
nium and, in fact, kept the latter employed in a de- 
fensive war while Rome was consolidating its power in 
the former. The trouble was that he came not as a 
leader, but as a master; hence Tarentum took the first 
opportunity to withdraw its support, whereupon he fell 



272 The Western Greeks 

in a desperate struggle to preserve his authority over both 
his confederates and his subjects. Tarentum, however, 
was able to stand by itself for the following generation, 
the energy of the Italians being involved between 327 
and 304 B.C. in the great struggle between Rome and the 
Samnites. When this ceased for a time in 304 B.C. 
Tarentum came again in peril and got assistance from 
Cle-on'y-mus of Sparta and A-gath'o-cles of Syracuse 
successively; but on its resumption in 298 B.C. a second 
respite was given. The decisive .victory of Rome in 
290 B.C. brought a new and greater peril, however, and 
in 282 B.C. Tarentum was forced to look abroad for a 
new and, as it proved, a last deliverer. 

330. Agathocles of Syracuse. — In the meantime Sicily 
had been the battle ground of a fierce struggle between 
the Greeks and Carthaginians. It had been occasioned 
by the breakdown of Timoleon's system during struggles 
of the masses to set aside the rule of the aristocrats. 
The victory of the populace in Syracuse elevated a cer- 
tain Agathocles to tyranny in 316 B.C. He was a man 
of great physical and mental ability, one of those " super- 
men" which the Hellenistic age produced — ready of 
speech, quick in decision, rapid in execution, at once an 
accomplished demagogue and general, and, according to 
Scipio Africanus, one of the two greatest men of action 
struggle that had ever lived. He had to fight for his position at 
once against aristocratic emigrants and the other Greek 
cities in Sicily which feared the revival of Syracusan 
supremacy, but with the assistance of the Carthaginian 
general on the island he effected a reconciliation with 
his domestic adversaries and made his city supreme 
(313 B.C.). With this result the Carthaginian government 



for Power. 



Africa. 



Agathocle.s 273 

at home was dissatisfied and in 311 B.C. it joined Agatho- 
cles' old enemies in an effort to put him down. The 
coalition forced the tyrant within the walls of Syra- 
cuse, and since no relief from without was thinkable, 
Agathocles seemed doomed to destruction. It was in invasion of 
this crisis that he put his army, twelve thousand strong, 
on board sixty ships and, giving the Carthaginian fleet 
the slip, sailed for Africa. The Libyans revolted, a 
second army came to his aid from Cy-re'ne, even Utica 
was captured, but the walls of Carthage defied assault 
and the sea was open. Moreover, Agathocles could not 
be in two places at once, and while he was at home in 
Sicily on a necessary visit his army was destroyed in 
Africa, and on his return the remnant lost confidence 
in him and mutinied. Agathocles escaped to Sicily, how- 
ever, and, unable to make head against both Carthage 
and his Sicilian adversaries, he made peace with the 
former, which feared the result should he be destroyed 
altogether, and forced the latter to submit. Thereupon, 
in 306 B.c he took the title of king and till his death in 
289 B.C. ruled Sicily gently and wisely. He even devel- 
oped an empire in Magna Graecia and on the shores of 
the Adriatic. 

331. Pyrrhus. — On his death, however, the old dis- 
order was renewed, and in 278 B.C. the Carthaginians 
were again dominant on the island and Syracuse was 
in imminent danger of falling into their hands. Some 
two years earlier Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, on losing his 
control of Macedon and Thessaly, had sought glory and 
empire in the west by accepting the call of Tarentum to 
protect it against Rome. He had defeated the Romans 
in two battles, and had for the moment, at least, freed the 



274 Transition to Rome 

Pyrrhusin Greek cities from danger. He was now entreated to 
^"^'^^' rescue Syracuse, and, crossing to Sicily, he was joined by 

everybody and rapidly expelled the Carthaginians from 
all points except the great fortress of Li-by-bae'um, the 
Gibraltar of the island (277 B.C.). This he was unable 
to take, and, since the Greek cities viewed his mission 
as accomplished, and wished to be rid of their protec- 
tor who could so easily become their master, he found 
himself rapidly deserted by his allies and forced to 
assume the defensive. Hence, in disgust he left Sicily 
to resume his operations against the Romans (276 B.C.). 
He is said to have stated in other words the thought of 
Plato that Sicily was destined to be a fine battle-ground 
for Rome and Carthage. 

GENERAL REVIEW OF PART II, DIVISIONS, 6, 7 AND 8 

336-200 B.C. 

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION, i. The main purpose mov- 
ing the leaders of world-history from 336-200 b.c. : how far 
was the ideal realized in actual events? 2. A comparison as 
to origin, leaders, aims, problems and historical development 
of the three kingdoms rising out of Alexander's empire. 

3. Course of the history of Greece proper from 336-200 b.c. 

4. The great epochs qf contact between Persia and Greece from 
500 B.C. to the fall of the Persian empire. 5. The dates of not 
more than six of the most important events of this age, with 
reasons for so regarding them. 6. How Aristotle, Theocritus, 
Zeno and Menander represent their age and its spirit. 7. The 
various important epochs in the history of Sicily. 8. The 
history of King Pyrrhus of Epirus as illustrative of the age. 

MAP AND PICTURE EXERCISES, i. Draw a map of Alex- 
ander's empire and place on it three cities founded by Alex- 
ander; explain the advantages of their location. 2. Com- 
pare the Laocobn (Plate XXIII) with the Hermes (Plate XIX). 
What are the differences — which is higher art — how does each 
represent the times in which it was produced? 3. Comparing 



General Review 275 

Plate XXI with Plates XV and XVI, where do you observe 
differences and resemblances? 4. Study the Greek coins 
(Plate XXVII), Observe the development in them — ^what 
facts for Greek life and history in them — select the finest, 
with reasons for the selection. 

TOPICS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS, i. What Alexander's Empire 
Meant for World-History. 2. A Day in Alexandria, 250 b.c. 
Kingsley, Alexandria and Her Schools; Mahaffy, Alexander's Em- 
pire. 3. Alexander as a General. 4. A Visit to the Philosoph- 
ical Schools of Athens in the Year 275 b.c. Capes, University 
Life in Ancient Athens. 5. Alexander's Cities. 6. A Sketch of 
Alexander's Campaign in India. 7. The Career of Aratus. 
Plutarch, Life of Aratus. 8. A Visit to Pergamon. Mahaffy, 
Greek Life and Thought, ch. 14. 9. A Study of the Consti- 
tution of the Achasan League. Mahaffy, Greek Life and 
Thought, ch. 16; Freeman, History of Federal Government, see 
index. 10. Write a series of notes explaining the allusions 
to Greek history in Byron's " The Isles of Greece." 



III. THE EMPIRE OF ROME 

350 B.C.-A.D. 800 

PRELIMINARY SURVEY 

332. Italy and the Eastern World. — ^The appearance 
of Rome in the east about the year 200 B.C. shifts our 
attention from the lands which have hitherto occupied 
us and centres it upon the peninsula of Italy. From an 
early period this land had come within the circle of an- 
cient history. Back in the fifteenth century its sea- 
rovers may have reached the shores of Egypt and from 
that time took service in the armies of the Pharaohs. 

Phoeni- The Phoenician merchants visited its coasts and estab- 
lished trading posts round about it in Africa, Sicily, Sar- 

Greeks. dinia and Spain (§§ 50-52). Soon the Greeks found it 
out and drew its people into the sphere of their life and 
culture. They planted permanent settlements in Sicily, 
established a line of cities on its southeastern coast and 
even founded colonies on its western shore whence they 
exchanged their goods and gave their civilization to its 
peoples (§§ 1 1 6-1 1 7). The foot of Italy was called 
Greater Greece, and a Greek empire sprang up about 
the Sicilian city of Syracuse (§ 249). The wars that 
shook the eastern world were felt in Italy; part of the 
Graeco-Persian struggle was fought in Sicily (§ 176), the 
strength of the Athenian empire was broken by the dis- 
aster of Syracuse (§ 234). It is said that Alexander con- 
templated the conquest of Italy. We have seen how Sicily 

276 



Physical Features of Italy 277 

and Magna Grascia were regarded by the Carthaginians 
and Itah"ans as their fair prey (§§ 328-331), and how Pyr- 
rhus attempted in vain to carve out for himself an em- 
pire on Itah'an soil (§ 331). The series of circumstances 
which led the states of the east to draw the Romans into 
their political entanglements has already been referred 
to (§ 327). Thus, in turning to Italy, we turn not to a 
new and hitherto unknown land, but to one already 
attached to the larger historic world. Italy simply takes 
the central place; the former leaders become the fol- 
lowers; the west becomes the seat of the dynamo that 
supplies power to drive politics and civilization to higher 
achievements in a wider world. 

333. Physical Features of Italy. — In its physical ge- 
ography Italy combined the characteristics of both the 
orient and Greece (§ 85), having level and broad plains 
intersected by stretches of wild mountain country, girt 
about and bathed by the sea on every side. It may be The Four 
divided into four zones or belts, three running side by ^°°^^- 
side, the fourth placed straight across their top. The The Apen- 
central of the three parallel belts is the great bow of the °'"*^' 
Apennine mountain range, some eight hundred miles 
long, the backbone and determining feature of all the 
rest. Starting far to the left at the head of the north- 
western sea, it moves at first to the east, but soon swings 
to the south, broadening and rising as it advances, until, 
in the centre of Italy, its summits reach the height of 
more than nine thousand five hundred feet and it becomes 
a highland of mingled valley and mountain fifty miles 
wide. Thence it narrows and declines, as it sweeps to- 
ward the south and west, and is continued in the west- 
ward ranging mountains of Sicily and the projecting 



278 



Rome: Preliminary Survey 



The Eastern 
Slope. 



The West- 
ern Slope. 



The North- 
ern Plain. 



highlands of North Africa, less than a hundred miles 
away. Parallel to this long Apennine bow, on either 
side of it, are the two belts of eastern and western coast- 
land. The eastern belt in its upper and middle parts is 
narrow; the sea lies close to the mountains, which fall off 
steeply into it; the rivers are mountain torrents; harbors 
there are none, and the stormy winds of the Adriatic 
sweep along the inhospitable shores. To the south, as 
the mountains draw away, the plain widens out into a 
broad upland. The sea has broken into it from the 
south along the mountain-side and left a broad promon- 
tory gently descending into the Mediterranean to the 
southeast. The western belt, occupying the concave side 
of the bow, has an exactly opposite character. Its upper 
and middle parts make a widening plain through which 
flow two considerable rivers, the Arno and the Tiber, 
The mountains slope off in gradual terraces to the sea; 
good harbors are found. Only in the lower portion, as the 
Apennines draw toward the southwest, does the plain 
narrow and at last disappear. The upper Apennines, 
in their eastern trend, form the southern boundary of 
the fourth belt, which lies east and west across the top 
of the other three. To the north of this belt runs the 
wall of the Alps, the western end of which is washed by 
the Mediterranean and its eastern slope by the head- 
waters of the Adriatic. Through the district thus marked 
out between the Alps and the Apennines flowed two 
rivers. Far in the west rose the Padus (Po), which 
gathered the mountain streams from south and north 
and swept in ever-increasing volume eastward to the 
Adriatic. From the northern Alps came down the 
Ath'e-sis (Adige) and reached the Adriatic not far north 



The Peoples of Italy 279 

of the Po. Thus a rich and extensive basin was formed, 
a httle world in itself, cut off from the north by the Alps 
and from the south by the Apennines. Entrance into it 
from west and north was not easy, but in the east the 
mountain streams pouring into the Adriatic had brought 
down soil which they deposited in the sea, pushing it 
steadily back until a broad and open pathway had been 
made, through which outsiders might come from the 
region of the Balkan peninsula. It was, perhaps, by this 
approach that the Italian peninsula was entered and 
settled by its historic inhabitants. 

334. The Peoples of Italy. — History has preserved no 
record of this incoming. Only a comparison of the lan- 
guages spoken by the peoples reveals their relationship. 
The historically unimportant Ligurians, occupying the Ligurians 
northwestern mountains about the Mediterranean, are 
set apart as a separate people, as are also the Etruscans, Etruscans, 
a strong and progressive race, who filled the wide upper 
plain on the inside of the Apennine bow from the moun- 
tains to the sea southward as far as the Tiber. The 
great mass of the remaining peoples spoke the dialects of 
a common speech which allies them to the historic in- 
habitants of the Balkan peninsula and Greece, the Indo- 
European (§ 5). On the lowest extremity of the eastern lUymns. 
slope, Illyrians from across the sea had settled under the 
name of the lapygians in the districts of Apulia and 
Calabria, while others of the same stock reached Italy at 
the north and settled as the Ven'e-ti at the head of the 
Adriatic. It was possibly in their van, and across the Italians, 
sea where it is narrowest, that the Italian stock entered 
their historic home. The rest of the peninsula was in 
their possession at the dawn of history. Of them there 



280 Rome: Preliminary Survey 

were several branches. Of that in the lowlands of the 
west and south the most famous was the Latin people 
in the plain south of the Tiber; the inhabitants of Sicily 
belonged to the same branch. The mountaineers formed 
another vigorous branch called, from their chief peo- 
ples, the Umbro-Sabellians. The Umbrians lived in the 
northern Apennines overlooking Etruria; the Sabellians 
were split into many tribes occupying the mountain 
valleys of the centre and south. The most vigorous and 
numerous stock among them was the Samnites. The 
northern plain of the Po was the seat of mixed popula- 
tions, a kind of vestibule, perhaps, for peoples to enter 
and mingle before pushing southward to permanent 
homes. 

335. Influence of Italy's Geography on. Its History. — 
Italy, thrust like a limb from the trunk of Europe down 
into the Mediterranean, was given by its position an 
important part to play in the Mediterranean world. 
Like Greece, it was in the pathway of history advancing 
v/estward. Yet, unlike Greece (§ 86), it did not invite 
and embrace its opportunity, but rather repelled it. Its 
eastern coast is inhospitable with forbidding mountains 
and an absence of harbors. To get at Italy you must 
reach its western coasts; it faces the setting sun. On that 
side are the broad plains and the harbors. Hence, west- 
ward-moving civilization was slow in getting round the 
barrier; it lingered long on the southeastern shores and 
in Sicily before moving up to the heart of the peninsula. 
Yet it is evident that the power which was to move Italy 
must be situated on its western side. 

336. The Problem of Defence. — In spite of the grim 
eastern shore, there was an abundance of easy approaches 



The Problem of Defence 



281 



to Italy. In the north, passes led down through the Alps, 
to the valley of the Po. The long coast-line of the west 




and south was open. This made a problem for Italy — 
the problem of defence against attacks from without 



282 Rome: Preliminary Survey 

which every pohtical power that has held Italy has had to 
solve. How different was Greece in this respect. For 
Italy the solution of the problem depended on unity 
within and command of the sea. 

337. Contrast of Highland and Plain. — But unity 
within Italy was made difficult by the opposition of high- 
land and plain. The wide Apennine region was the 
home of vigorous tribes who envied the prosperity of the 
plain and sallied out from time to time to obtain their 
share in it — a proceeding which the plainsmen did not 
relish and from which they must defend themselves until 
the time came to settle once for all which should be 
master. 

338. Origin of Rome. — Out of conditions such as 
these Rome emerged, a city on the bank of the Tiber, 
in the southern part of the western plain, equidistant 
from the sea and the mountains. It was made up of 
villages of Latin stock united by mutual necessities and 
interests in a common city-state. Its origin and early 
history are veiled in mists of myth and legend through 

Its Historic which actual history vaguely glimmers. But, from the 
first, the chief interest for the student of ancient history 
centres in the relation of Rome to surrounding peoples 
in ever-widening circles. These varying relations make 
the framework about which gathers the stately structure 
of its brilliant history. 

338a. The Grand Divisions. — The grand divisions of 
this period are therefore the following. 

1. The Making of Rome, i2oo(?)-5oo B.C. 

2. Rome's Defence against Her Neighbors, 500-390 

B.C. 



The Grand Divisions 283 

3. The Unification and Organization of Italy, 390- 

264 B.C. 

4. The Struggle with Carthage for the Western Medi- 

terranean, 264-200 B.C. 

5. Rome's Conquest of the East, 200-133 '^•^• 

6. The Decline of the Roman Republic, 133-44 (27) 

B.C. 

7. The Roman Empire (Principate), 27 b.c.-a.d. 284. 

8. The Later Roman Empire (Despotism), 284- 

395 A.D. 

9. The Breaking Up of the Roman Empire and the 

End of the Ancient World, a.d. 395-800. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. Name the chief rivers of Italy and 
trace them on the map. 2. Make a chart of the peoples of 
Italy, showing their relationship. 3. Draw up a list of the 
early relations of Italy and the east, look up the references and 
discuss them in detail. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Geography of Italy. 

How and Leigh, ch. i. 2. Italian Peoples. How and Leigh, ch. 2. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Geog- 
raphy of Italy. Dionysius in Munro, p. 2; Shuckburgh, ch. 2; 
Botsford, p. 15; Myres, ch. i. 2. Italian Peoples. ShucklDurgh, 
ch. 3; Myres, ch. 2. 3. Divisions of Roman History. Shuck- 
burgh, ch. I. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY* 

For bibliography for advanced students and teachers, see Appendix I. 
Abbott. Roman Political Institutions. Ginn and Co. The best single 

book on the subject in moderate compass. 
Botsford. A History of Rome. Macmillan Co. (To Charlemagne.) 
Well written and illustrated. The best book of its size covering the 
whole field. 
Carter. Religion of Numa. ^Macmillan Co. The best little book on 
the subject. 

* For previous bibliographies, see §§ 5a, Sga. 



284 The Making of Rome 

Fowler. The City State of the Greeks and Romans. See § 89a. 

Fowler. Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero. Macmillan. A 
charming book. Useful. 

How AND Leigh. A History of Rome to the Death of Ccesar. Longmans. 
Illustrated. Contains vivid characterizations and descriptions. 

Johnston. The Private Life of the Romans. Chicago: Scott, Fores- 
man and Co. A much more elaborate work than that of Wilkins. 

Laing. Masterpieces of Latin Literature. Houghton, Mifflin and Co. 
A serviceable single volume of literary extracts with scholarly in- 
troductions. 

Mackail. Latin Literature. Scribners. Of the same type as Murray's 
Greek Literature (§ 89a). A little above a beginner. 

MOREY. Outlines of Roma?t History. American Book Co. A brief 
sketch, well organized, with useful helps. 

MuNRO. A Source Book of Roman History. D. C. Heath and Co. An 
indispensable collection of historical materials covering a variety of 
phases of Roman life. English translations. 

Myres. A History of Rotne. Rivingtons. (To the death of Augustus.) 

Pelham. Outlines of Roman History. Putnams. The best propor- 
tioned, compact and generally reliable summary in English. 

Plutarch. Translation by Dryden, edited by Clough. 5 vols. Little, 
Brown and Co.; or by Stewart and Long. 4 vols. Bohn. 

Seignobos. History of the Roman People. Holt. Covers the whole 
period. Picturesque, anecdotal, simply written. 

Shuckburgh. a History of Rome to the Battle of Actium. Macmillan Co. 

Wilkins. Roman Antiquities (History Primer). American Book Co. 
An excellent brief summary of the essentials. 

Wilkins. Roman Education. Cambridge Univ. Press. 



1. THE MAKING OF ROME 

1200 B.C.(?)-500 B.C. 

339. Its Geographical Position. — ^Rome lay on the 
south bank of the Tiber, the chief navigable river of the 
western slope. It skirted the Etrurian plain and opened 
a way into the highlands of the central and upper Apen- 
nines. An easy ford near by the city was the natural 



I 



The Site of Rome 285 

crossing from the Latin to the Etrurian country. These a com- 
mercial 

Centre. 



facts made Rome a place where roads met, through '""'^'^' 



which traders passed; they gave it some commercial 
importance. At the same time it was midway between Protected. 
the sea and the mountains, far enough away from the one 
to be protected from the sea-rovers that preyed upon com- 
merce, and sufficiently distant from the other to have 
timely warning of the raids of the mountaineers. The 
city was also placed on a series of low hills, which fringed 
the northern border of the Latin land; the rude fortifica- 
tions on their summits were sufficient to guard the inhabi- 
tants against attack and to enable them to control the 
land round about. Thus the city was not only commer- indepen- 
cially important, but had an independent position. It 
was central and yet isolated, in the midst of the plain and 
yet secure from interference — an ideal site destined to 
greatness. A river, a ford, a fortress — these were the 
chief physical factors contributing to the making of Rome. 
340. The Seven Hills. — Rome is said to have been 
built on seven hills. The central and most important The 
one, called the Palatine, stood isolated. It was almost 
square, with its corners turned to the four points of the 
compass, and almost directly opposite the river ford. 
Back of it and away from the river, standing side by side, 
were other hills, called, respectively, the Caelian, the 
Es'qui-line, the Viminal and the Qui'ri-nal. On their 
eastern side they fell away to the plain. South of it, 
overlooking the river, was the Aventine hill; north of it 
the Cap'i-to-line, isolated and steep. Across the river, 
lying over against the ford, was the ridge called the Jani'- 
cu-lum. In the narrow ravines and valleys between 
these hills were the roads and open spaces which came 



286 



The Making of Rome 



to be famous in history. Thus, between the Aventine 

and the Caehan ran the Appian Way; the Circus Maxi- 

mus (where the public games were held) lay between the 

The Forum. Avcntinc and the Palatine: the Forum (the market and 




place of citizen-assembly) to the north of the Palatine; 
where the Tiber makes a great bend, the low stretch 
between it and the Capitoline, the Campus Martius (the 
"Field of Mars," where the army exercised). 

341. Earliest Period. — This site had, in all probability, 
been occupied by men since the opening of the neolithic 
age; and at a time perhaps six hundred years before the 



Patiii'iatis and Plebeians 287 

rule of the Tarquins it came into the possession of the 
Latins. What happened to the earlier inhabitants we 
do not know. If they were not extirpated altogether, 
they had fused with the Latins long before our knowledge 
begins. Nor do we know anything definite about the 
long six hundred years which followed, except that in this 
interval the Latins were influenced, slightly, it seems, by 
the Phoenicians, much more strongly, however, by the 
civilized peoples who settled first north (Etruscans) and 
then south (Greeks) of them. 

342. Social and Political Organization. — In these 
circumstances progress was accelerated. The villagers TheCity- 
in the vicinity of the Seven Hills formed a single city, 
Rome, to which now belonged all the land in the vicinity 
(Campagna). Some families became rich, owning large 
estates. In time their members stood as nobles (patri- Patricians. 
cians) over the neighboring peasants, who had become 
their clients or serfs. In all the families the father {pater 
jamilias) had power of life and death over its members, 
his wife and sons and unmarried daughters included; 
and with their discipline or offences the state had no 
concern whatever. Groups of rich families bound to- 
gether by intermarriages, and by the bonds of factional 
war, and claiming descent from a common ancestor, to 
wham they owed their common name, formed a clan 
or gens. Of these as many as one hundred or one hun- 
dred and fifty appeared, varying, of course, in size and 
influence. Examples are the gens Fabia, Cornelia and 
Claudia. The members of the gen'tes were the patri- TheOentes. 
cians. That portion of the population which did not 
belong to the gentes and was not dependent upon them 
remained free. It is called the plebs. The traders Plebeians. 



Comitia 
Curiata 



288 The Making of Rome 

and artisans resident in Rome belonged to it, as did a 
body of small farmers who owned their own lands. As 
the power of the patricians increased the power of the 
ancient head of the state, the king, waned, and the power 
of his council of elders, called the senate, in which the 
The nobles congregated, became paramount. There was, of 

course, a general assembly {co-mit'i-a cur-i-a'ta) of the 
citizens {quir-i'tes) to be considered, and from of old it 
had met for legislative and military purposes in curicB 
(brotherhoods or phra tries). Now this, too, was threat- 
ened by the power of the nobles, and in fact it ultimately 
ceased to be of any account and the curiae, of which there 
were thirty, ceased to have any real function to perform; 
but before this occurred, Rome as we shall see in a 
moment, like the rest of La'ti-um, and for that matter all 
the lowlands as far south as the Greek city of Cumse, near 
the bay of Naples, was seized by bands of Etruscan 
nobles and their retainers. The dynasty which occupied 
the town by the Tiber was that of the Tarquins, who 
came, perhaps, from Tarquinii, one of the chief Etruscan 
cities. 

343. The Legends of Rome's Beginning. — About this natural 
and prosaic origin of Rome * the Romans wove a variety of pictu- 
resque stories which were preserved and put in order by Livy and other 
historians many centuries later. In these legends the Roman people 
were connected with i^^neas, one of the heroes of Troy (§ no), who 
wandered to Italy and married Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, king of 
Latium. One of his descendants, Rhea, gave birth to twin sons, 
Romulus and Remus; their father was the god Mars. Shortly after 

* The later Romans dated the founding of the city in 753 B.C. Thus 
A.u.c. (anno urbis conditse, "in the year of the founding of the city," 
or "ab urbe condita," "from the founding of the city") corresponds to 
our A.D. (Anno Domini, "in the year of the Lord"). 



Stories of the Romaii K'mg.s 289 

their birth, their wicked uncle, the king, ordered them to be thrown 
into the Tiber, but the river yielded them up to a herdsman, who 
brought them up as his children. On growing up, they discovered 
their real origin, killed their uncle and proceeded to found a city. 
A quarrel arising between them, Romulus killed his brother and be- 
came founder and king of the city, called Rome after his name. He 
gave the city its laws and religion, invited all men desirous of change 
and advancement to become its citizens, and appointed one hundred 
of them senators. In order to secure wives for his people, he pro- 
claimed a festival and invited neighboring peoples to the spectacle; 
when they had gathered, on a signal his men seized their daughters 
and took them as wives. A fierce war arising in consequence, Romu- 
lus defeated all his enemies except the Sabines, who were induced, 
by the intercession of the Roman women, their daughters, at the 
crisis of a hot batde, to make peace and join the new community. 
Romulus, not long after, was carried away into heaven. He was 
followed in the kingship by the wise and pious Sabine, Numa Pom- 
pilius, whose achievement it was to organize the religion and civiliza- 
tion of Rome. His wife was a goddess, the nymph E-ge'ri-a, whom he 
was wont to meet and consult in a grove whence a spring flowed. 
Tullus Hostilius, a Roman, succeeded him, a warrior who fought 
with Alba Longa and overthrew the Albans. In this war there 
were on one occasion three twin brothers in either army, the Roman 
Horatii and the Alban Curiatii, who agreed to fight a combat, the 
issue of which was to determine the war. The Horatii conquered, 
one brother surviving. On his return home, his sister, who was be- 
trothed to one of the slain Curiatii, lamented grievously. This so 
enraged the victor that he slew her. About to be put to death by the 
judges for this crime, he appealed to the people, who acquitted him. 
Tullus was followed by the Sabine, Ancus Marcius, a grandson of 
Numa, who won considerable victories over the Latins and added 
people and territory to the city. Such, according to the legends, 
was the origin and early history of Rome. 

344. Italy Makes Rome. — During all this time Rome 
was a city of Latium, the land of the Latins. The cities Latium 
of Latium had long formed a league, and the Romans 
naturally formed part of it. The league had its centre in 



and Its 
League. 



290 



The Making of Rome 



The 

Etruscan 
Develop- 
ment. 



the city of Alba Longa, where representatives of thirty 
cities met yearly, united in worship of the god, Jupiter, 
and deliberated on affairs of common interest. Thus 
an opportunity was offered Rome of taking part in the 
life of a larger world. Second, the various civilizing 
and progressive influences of the east had long been 
affecting the Italian communities of the west coast and 
creating a new and vigorous social and political life. 
Of all these communities, the Etruscans had been most 
capable of profiting by such influences. They had, 
at a very early period, expanded their borders southward 
to the Tiber and eastward to the Apennines; they had 
seats in the valley of the Po, and from the sea coast made 
voyages throughout the Tyrrhenian sea to Corsica and 
Sardinia. The Phoenicians brought them the products of 
the oriental civilization, and the Greeks gave to them their 
own rich and splendid achievements in art and culture. 
Egyptian seals and Greek vases have been found in Etrus- 
can graves. Etruscan art took such objects as models and 
developed skill in the making of weapons of war and ob- 
jects of trade. The commerce of their cities grew; they 
became rich and powerful. As the Greeks began to settle 
in Italy, their merchants brought along with their wares 
the intellectual riches of the mother-country. From the 
Greek colonies Etruria learned the art of writing, the 
names and worship of Greek gods and Greek arts of life. 
Etruscan The Etruscans were thus good exponents of the culture 
and Rule of ^^ ^hc castem Mediterranean world when the Tarquins 
Rome. seized Rome. 



The Greek 
Influence. 



345. Etruscan Kings. — During the reign of Ancus Marcius — • 
the Roman legends go on to relate — there came to Rome from Tar- j 
quinii in Etruria a man whose name was Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. \ 
It was said that on the journey to Rome an omen of his future great- i^ 



Stories of the Etruscan Kings 291 

ness was given; an eagle flew down, took off his cap, circled about him 
and replaced it. He grew in wealth and influence and was appointed 
guardian of the king's children. On the king's death he sought and 
obtained from the people election to the throne. To strengthen his 
position he added one hundred men to the Senate. He fought vic- 
toriously with Latins and Sabines; he laid out the Circus Maximus 
and exhibited games there; he began to wall the city, to drain its 
hollows by sewers and to lay out the space for a temple to Jupiter on 
the Capitoline Hill. But the sons of Ancus Marcius, who sought 
revenge for having been supplanted by a foreigner, plotted against 
the king and brought about his murder. They failed, however, to 
secure the throne. A young man, Servius Tullius, a captive and 
slave, had been favored by the king and betrothed to his daughter. 
It is said that the king's attention had been drawn to him by a strange 
portent; as the boy lay asleep in the palace, his head suddenly flamed 
with fire, which disappeared when he awoke. On the king's murder, 
before it was widely known that he was dead, Servius assumed his 
duties and at last seized the throne and established himself firmly. 
He was a wise and vigorous ruler. Under him the Roman state was 
reorganized. He instituted the census, or classification of the people 
in classes and centuries on the basis of property, chiefly for purposes 
of war. The citizens thus organized numbered eighty thousand. He 
enlarged the city and surrounded it with a wall and a moat. After a 
long reign he was slain by Tarquinius, the son, or grandson, of Priscus, 
urged on to the crime by his wife, the daughter of Servias, who was 
eager for royal power. Tarquinius, called Superbus, "the proud," 
because of his haughty and unbending temper, ruled with energy 
and success. He gained for Rome greater influence in the Latin 
league, warred with the mountaineers and won the city of Gabii. 
At. home he made many improvements in the city; built the great 
sewer, erected seats in the Circus and began a splendid temple to 
Jupiter upon the area marked out by Priscus. But a series of events 
followed which brought about his overthrow and the disappearance 
of kings from Rome. 

346. Growth under Etruscan Rule. — It is clear that 
under the Etruscan kings Rome entered upon a new ca- 
reer. All sides of its inner and outer life received fresh 



292 



The Making of Rome 



impulse. But of their temples, fortifications and sewers 
little or nothing remains, since they were replaced at a 
later date by new constructions such as the Clo-a'ca Max- 
ima which drained the Forum and the so-called walls of 
Romulus and Servius. The Roman power made itself 
felt in Latium. The headship of the Latin league fell 
into the hands of these kings. The extension of Etrus- 
can power throughout the western plain contributed to 
the spread of commerce and trade. A larger share of 
these fell to Rome and brought increased wealth and 
culture from the east, as well as a greater population to 
take advantage of the larger opportunities. 

347. Roman Religion. — Two spheres of Roman life, 
affected by the Etruscan domination, deserve special 
mention; the religious and the political organization. 
Roman religion was a very simple and practical affair, 
befitting a farmer-folk without culture. They believed 
themselves surrounded by spirits who were active every- 
where in nature and in the affairs of men. These spirits 
dwelt in animals, in trees, in fountains and the like. 
The farm life had its special divine patrons, worshipped 
in rude festivals occurring at set times, sowing or har- 
vest. By ceremonies suitable to the occasion — the pro- 
cession of farmers with their farm animals around the 
fields, or a rustic feast with boisterous games and rough 
horse-play — the worshippers appeased the higher powers 
and secured their help in the growing and ripening of 
the crops. The farm-house had its deities — Vesta, the 
guardian of the hearth, and Janus, the spirit of the door- 
way. As life in the city supplanted life in country vil- 
lages, these powers took up their home there, and their 
worship was organized. Some spirits became patrons 



Early Roman Religion 293 

of private life, as the La'res, who were guardians of the 
families, and the Pe-na'tes, who presided over the pro- 
visions. There was still much indefiniteness as to the 
names and power of the spirits. The Romans thought 
more of what they did than of what they were called and 
how they looked. Yet, as the public life became more 
regular, the more important gods came to have special 
names and a suitable worship (§ loo). So we have Jupiter, The Great 
the sky god, Diana, the forest goddess, Ceres, the mother 
of agriculture, Venus, goddess of fruitfulness and love, 
Mars, god of war, Neptune, of the sea, Vulcan, of fire 
and mechanic arts, Juno, goddess of motherhood and 
patron of families and clans. The world of the dead 
was regarded as beneath the earth and had its deity, 
Dis-pa'ter. King Numa stood in the tradition as the 
prime organizer of the Roman state-worship of the va- 
rious gods. To him was ascribed the appointment of Religious 
the chief body of priests, called pontifices, at the head of 
which was the pontifex maximus; of the Vestal virgins, 
six in number, who kept the fire ever burning in the shrine 
of Vesta — the hearth goddess of the state; of the flamens 
(lighters) who kindled the fire on the altar and performed 
the sacrifice to the great gods, Jupiter, Mars and Quiri- 
nus; of the fet'i-a'les who declared war by hurling a spear 
into the enemy's territory and solemnized peace by swear- 
ing on a sacred stone brought from the temple of Jupiter 
Fe-ret'ri-us and thus pledging the faith {-fides) of the peo- 
ple; and finally of the Salii who guarded the shield of 
Mars which had fallen from heaven, it was said. As a 
matter of fact no one knows how or when these sacred 
offices originated. The sentiment of law and order, 
which was so characteristic of Roman life everywhere, 



294 The Making of Rome 

had full sway in religious matters and led to a very care- 
ful arrangement of the relations between gods and men. 
Though the Romans were not on familiar terms with 
their gods — they feared rather than loved them — and 
did not imagine them beautiful beings, as did the Greeks 
(§ 112), yet they believed one thing firmly and strongly 
about them-, that they would be as honest and as faithful 
to their agreements as were their worshippers. Thus, 
attention was directed to learning the terms on which 
the gods would live at peace with men and prosper them; 
and having learned this, having come to terms with the 
gods, the Romans faithfully and scrupulously kept their 
part of the contract and expected in turn that the gods 
would do their part. Honest fulfilment of definite ob- 
ligation, this was man's duty toward the gods. This 
made the old Roman strong and strenuous in his daily 
work at home and abroad. 

348. Etruscan Influence on Religion. — The Etruscan 
period brought in new gods and new religious forms. 
The most important new deity was Minerva, goddess of 
wisdom, patron of trade and commerce. New temples 
were built; particularly the state temple on the Capi- 
toline, where Jupiter, Juno and Minerva were worshipped 
together and thus became the chief deities of the city. 
But the principal result of Etruscan influence was to aid 
Roman religion to determine more clearly the will of the 
gods by a system of omens. An "omen" was an indi- 
cation of what the gods wanted or how they felt; it 
could be deliberately watched for, or it could be a 
seemingly chance event in the natural world, such as the 
actions of animals — a rat running across the path, for 
example, a case of epilepsy or a thunder-storm. The 



Etruscan Divination 295 

Etruscans were experts at devising means to this end. 
The meaning of such things had been studied, and a sys- 
tem of laws discovered, by which the gods revealed them- 
selves to the one who knew how to interpret these signs, 
called auspicia. Such a development of their religion 
was natural and acceptable to the Romans and became 
an essential part of it. Officials, called augurs and 
ha-rus'pi-ces, were set apart to study, put in order and 
practise this system, to learn and interpret the auspices. 
Thus the religion became more and more rigid and for- 
mal, yet also more definite and concrete. Its name in- 
dicates its character — religio — that which "binds" gods 
and men to keep their word, to fulfil a contract, the 
terms of which are known and acknowledged by both 
parties. The corresponding word for man's attitude 
toward the gods — the honest doing of duty as prescribed 
in definite law and ritual — was pietas. 

The story went that once the Sibyl visited Tarquin the Proud The 

and offered to sell him nine books by which the will of the gods could Sibylline 

. . Books, 

be interpreted. The price was high and the king refused. She 

burned three of them and offered him the rest for twice the price. 

Again he refused. She burned three more and again doubled the 

price for the three that remained. The king reflected and finally 

paid what she demanded. These three Sibylline Books came to be 

most precious possessions of the state and were consulted at critical 

moments in its history. 

349. Etruscan Political Influence on Rome. — Roman 
political organization underwent important changes in 
the Etruscan period. As these kings were foreign con- 
querors, they could deal with the political arrangements 
of the state as they liked. There was need of change. 
During Rome's progress in commerical and political 



296 



The Making of Rome 



importance, while the original basis of citizenship (§ 342) 
had remained, the population of the city had greatly- 
altered. A rearrangement, ascribed to King Servius Tul- 
lius (§ 345), brought the people into the service of the 
community by making them a part of the army. This 
was done by making the possession of property the sole 
condition for military service. An entire reorganization 
of the military arrangements of the state was thus made 
necessary. A larger and more efficient army was created, 
the strength of the state increased and the power of the 
king heightened by the devotion of the people, thus hon- 
ored by him. It cannot be proved that a king named 
Servius Tullius ever lived, much less that he reordered 
the army in this fashion. Still we know that an arrange- 
ment of the soldiers in centuries on the basis of property 
dates from at least the fifth century B.C. 

350, The Classes and the Centuries. — The traditional account 
of the arrangements of Servius, as preserved by later Roman writers 
and interpreted by modern scholars, is as follows: The very richest 
of the people were appointed to the cavalry (equites or knights)-. 
This cavalry force was divided into eighteen companies called "cen- 
turies" or hundreds. The rest of the people made up the infantry. 
They were organized into five "classes," grading down according to 
property. Each class * was made up of a certain number of cen- 
turies. The first class, composed of men whose wealth was estimated 
at one hundred thousand asses,t had eighty centuries of fully armed 
soldiers; the second class, men worth seventy-five thousand asses; 
the third class, men worth fifty thousand asses, and the fourth class, 
men worth twenty-five thousand asses, had each twenty centuries 
and were armed in less complete fashion; the fifth class, men worth 

* The term "class" here has the meaning of "calling out," i.e.," Levy." 

t The as, of bronze, was the unit of value in Roman currency. In the 

time of Servius the property was in land; the estimate in money value is 

the work of a later time. Compare the similar organization of Solon 

(§ 159). 



The Expulsion of the Tarquins 297 

eleven thousand asses, in thirty centuries, were shngers. The land- 
less formed one century. Four other centuries were made up of 
artificers and trumpeters. The cavalry and the men of military age 
in the first five classes constituted the army in the field. The infantry 
was drawn up in two bodies, each called a Legio (legion). These 
were made up of men of the first three classes; the fourth and fifth 
classes supplied the light armed troops. The legion was drawn up six 
men deep with a front of 500 men; with its light armed troops, there- 
fore, it numbered 4,200. Two such legions made up of those be- 
tween 17 and 46 (juniors) constituted the field army. Two other 
legions, held at home to protect the city and made up of men past 
military age, raised the total military force of Rome to 16,800 men. 

351. The Roman Reaction. — It seemed as though the 
influence of the Etruscan kings among the people and 
their pre-eminence in Latium would secure to them a 
long and firm hold upon Rome. But it did not so turn 
out. The noble families grew stronger; the sentiment Fail of 
of nationality opposed the rule of strangers; at last the Ki^g^s'^and 
Etruscan rulers were driven out; with them went the End of the 
power of the kingship itself. The process was, no doubt, 
much the same as in Greece (§ 106). Remains of the 
kingly dignity survived only in the religious sphere. The 
rex sacrorum, "king of sacred things," became the highest 
priestly representative of the state in certain non-political 
religious exercises, and the Regia, "royal palace," was 
turned into a holy place where priests dwelt and sacri- 
fices were performed. The aristocracy took control of 
affairs and Rome became an aristocratic state. The 
date traditionally set for this change was 509 B.C. The 
transformations brought about in connection with it, 
both in the life of Rome and in its relations to Italy, are 
so important as to make it a turning-point in Roman 
history, the beginning of a new period. 



298 The Making of Rome 

352. Legend of the Expulsion. — The Roman legends describe 
the growing arrogance of Tarquin the Proud and his family, under 
which the Romans were impatient but submissive. Finally a gross 
act of violence was inflicted by Tarquin's son upon Lucretia, wife of 
the noble Collatinus; under the shame of it she killed herself in the 
presence of her husband and his friends. The king was at the time 
absent from the city, waging war. They raised a rebellion; the gates 
of the city were closed against him, and the kingship was formally 
abolished by the citizens. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. How did the Tiber and the Pala- 
tine affect the early history of Rome? 2. What is meant 
by gens, patrician, plebeian, omen, religio, pietas, equites? 
3. What was the traditional date of the founding of Rome? 
of the expulsion of the kings? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i . In what was the early organization 
of Rome (§ 342) like and unlike that of the Greek communi- 
ties of the Middle Age (§§ 105-107)? 2. Compare the origin 
of Rome with that of Athens (§ 107). 3. Compare the geog- 
raphy of Greece and Italy and show how differently the his- 
tory of each land was thus affected. 4. Compare the reforms 
of Servius with those of Solon (§ 159). 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Sources and Trustworthiness 
of Early Roman History. How and Leigh, pp. 34-37. 2. The 
Reforms of Servius in Some Detail, with a Diagram. How 
and Leigh, pp. 28, 46-47. ' 3. The Early Roman Legends and 
Their Value. How and Leigh, pp. 34-37. 4. Origin and Growth 
of Rome, the City. How and Leigh, pp. 37-39 (see map, p. 38). 
5. The Institutions of Early Rome. How and Leigh, pp. 40-45. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Sources 
and Trustworthiness of Early Roman History. Munro, pp. 
3-5; Shuckburgh, pp. 54-60; Myres, pp. 38-41; Seignobos, pp. 
33-35. 2. Stories of the Kings from Romulus to Ancus. Plu- 
tarch, Romulus and Numa; Munro, pp. 66-68; Seignobos, pp. 15-20. 
3. Stories of the Etruscan Kings. Seignobos, pp. 21, 27. 4. 
The Reforms of Servius in Some Detail, with a Diagram. 
Munro, pp. 45-47; Shuckburgh, pp. 43-49; Myres, pp. 56-63; Ab- 
bott, pp. 20, 21. 5. The Curiae and the Comitia Curiata. Ab- 
bott, pp. 18-20. 6. Sanitary Conditions of Ancient Rome. 
Lanciani, Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries, pp. 
53~73- 7- The House of the Vestals. Lanciani, pp. 134-177. 
8. The Auspices. Botsford, Roman Assemblies, pp. 100-118. 



The New Government 299 

3.— ROME'S DEFENCE AGAINST HER 
NEIGHBORS 

500-390 B.C. 

353. The New Government. — The growing power of 
the noble houses had resulted in the overthrow of the 
kingship. Into the place of the monarchy stepped the 
aristocracy, to whom fell the organization and conduct 
of the state. They occupied the offices, made and ad- 
ministered the laws and determined the policy. Two officials, 
officials, called prcEtors (later consuls), were appointed 
for the administration. In taking office they were given 
the imperium, which was equivalent to the possession of 
kingly powers; they led the armies, pronounced judgment 
and performed the chief public religious services. But 
the aristocracy had no idea of substituting new kings 
for the old. The powers of the consuls were carefully 
limited. They were elected for one year only; they 
must be aristocrats; their powers were equal and hence 
each could nullify the acts of the other. When, however, 
unity of command was necessary, a dictator was nom- 
inated by the consuls and for a term of at most six 
months he had absolute power over both citizens and sol- 
diers. He nominated a master of horse to exercise under 
him the command of the cavalry. The consuls also ap- 
pointed assistants' (quaestors) to help them in collecting 
the revenues and in searching out foul crimes. An im- citizens, 
portant change took place in the citizen body. The army, 
as reorganized in the centuries attributed to Sennus 
(§ 350), may have helped the aristocracy in accomplish- 
ing the revolution; it was now more than ever necessary 



300 



The Defence of Rome 



in maintaining the state. Very naturally, therefore, it 
was the most important body of the people; all its mem- 
bers became active citizens and were organized as a new 
assembly for the election of consuls and the making of 
laws. It was called the co-mit'i-a cen-tu' -ria' ta and soon 
put the old curiate assembly (§ 342) in the shade. The 
latter continued to meet, but was insignificant. The 
senate was the real power in the new state. It was com- 
posed entirely of aristocrats. It practically dictated the 
election of consuls, determined their policy and indicated 
what laws should be passed by the people. 

354. Difficulties with Neighbors. — The dangers that 
confronted the new government were sufficiently alarm- 
ing. With the passing of the monarchy, the Latin cities 
rejected the leadership of Rome; indeed, it is probable 
that they also put off Etruscan domination and set up 
for themselves in the same fashion as did Rome. The 
rivalry thus created might have proved disastrous had 
not a new danger driven them back to the old alliance. 
This was the invasion of the mountain tribes, long held 
in leash by the strong Etruscan power in Latium. The 
Latin league was said to have been re-established by 
Spurius Cassius in 493 B.C. Thereupon, Rome led the 
plainsmen out against the invading mountaineers. From 
the east the Sabines and Hernici were advancing, from the 
south the iEqui and Volsci. But the Hernici were secured 
as allies, and thus the eastern and southern invaders were 
separated. Yet the conflict was long and trying. From 
time to time the hillsmen swept down to the very gates 
of Rome, raiding and burning the fields and homesteads. 

355. With the Etruscans. — An even fiercer struggle 
was forced by the Etruscans, who would not willingly 



Etruscan Wars 



301 



yield up their hold on Rome and Latium. We have 
rumors of a struggle in which Rome succumbed for a time 
to the superior strength of Lars Por'se-na of Clusium; 
of another in which Aruns, his son, was defeated by the 




THE 
ENVIRONS OF ROME, 



combined forces of Cum^e and the Latins; and of still 

a third in which the Fabian gens fought alone against Veii 

on behalf of Rome. Still the Romans gradually got the Decline of 

better of their antagonist, owing not more to their own ^*'"^'*- 

valor than to the general decline of the Etruscan power, 



302 



The Defence of Rome 



Capture of 
Veil. 



I. The 

Etruscan 

Wars. 



Porsena. 



which was being attacked on all sides. Thus in 474 B.C. 
the fleet of Etruria was destroyed in the harbor of Cums 
by Hieron of Syracuse — a blow which apparently carried 
with it the loss of the Tyrrhenian sea; and a generation 
later the settlements in Capua and its neighborhood fell 
before the invading Campanians. Moreover, a new en- 
emy in the north, the Celts (Gauls), was pushing down 
upon them; it drove them out of the Po valley and com- 
pelled them to stand on the defensive. In this situation 
they could not concentrate their waning strength on 
Rome. At last Veil, a strong Etruscan city, situated a 
few miles to the north, fell before a Roman assault 
(396 B.C.). The Romans advanced into the heart of 
Etruria and took possession of the southern half of the 
land. 

356. The Legends of These Struggles. — Many stories 
of heroic exploits were told about these early wars of 
Rome with its neighbors: 

When the gates of the city had been shut against him, Tarquin the 
Proud immediately set about recovering his power. At first a plot 
was formed within Rome among the noble youth who felt that they 
were under restraint in the new conditions. But just as they were 
about to spring their trap, they were betrayed by a slave who over- 
heard their treasonable communings. Even though the sons of the 
consul, they were not saved from summary execution inflicted under 
their father's direction. Whereupon Tarquin, having solicited aid 
from the cities of Etruria, came against Rome with an army from 
Veii and Tarquinii. In the battle, Brutus, the consul, and Aruns, 
Tarquin's son, found death in single combat. Help was then sought 
by Tarquin from Lars Porsena, king of the powerfiil city of Clu- 
sium, who led down from the north a mighty host against Rome. 
He would have forced a passage over the Sublician bridge had not a 
brave warrior, Horatius Codes, supported by two companions, held 
the entrance against the enemy, never retiring until the Romans cut 



Legends of the Wars 303 

down the bridge behind him; then plunging into the Tiber he swam 
safely back to his friends. Porsena brought the city low by a block- 
ade; he was persuaded to give up his hostile endeavors only through 
the heroic act of Mucins, who, in disguise, entered the Etruscan 
camp in order to kill the king. By a mistake he killed the king's sec- 
retary and, when arrested and brought before Porsena, he declared 
that there were three hundred other Roman youth, like himself, sworn 
to kill the king. In proof of his determination, he thrust his right hand 
into the fire that was lighted for the sacrifice. Hence he was after- 
ward called Scsev'o-la, "the left-handed." Porsena, moved with ad- 
miration and fear, dismissed the youth unharmed. Soon he made 
peace and retired. 

But the people of Veil continued to war with Rome, harassing 
them with frequent raids. On one occasion, the noble family of the The FabiL 
Fabii offered to proceed against them and conduct the war. So 
they marched out three hundred and six strong amid the prayers and 
praises of the people. Arrived at a strong place at the river Crem'e-ra, 
they fortified it, and for a time fought the Veientes with great success. 
But, at last, growing confident and careless, they were ambushed by 
the enemy and cut oflf. Only one of them, and he a child, was left to 
represent his family. A few years after, peace for forty years was 
declared between the two states. Then the war broke out again 
with the going over of Fi-de'nae, a Roman colony, to Veil. In the 
battle that followed, Aulus Cornelius Cossus slew, with his own 
hand, Tolumnius, king of Veil, and hung up the royal spoils beside 
those dedicated by Romulus in the temple of Jupiter Feretrius. 
Not long after, Fidenae was taken by storm. But the war continued 
with varying success, until the other Etruscan cities decided to give 
no rnore help to Veil. Then the Romans resolved to lay siege to the Siege of 
city. For ten years their armies lay before it, but the city was de- ^^"• 
fended with vigor. In despair the Romans sought an oracle from 
Delphi (§ 128), and were told that victory depended on letting out 
the waters of the Alban lake. When this was done, Marcus Furius 
Ca-mil'lus, the dictator, solemnly invited Juno, the goddess of Veii, 
to abandon the doomed city and come to Rome; then the assault 
was made and Veii fell. 

News came to the Romans that thirty Latin cities had entered 2. The 
into alliance against them under the leadership of Octavius Mamil- ^^''° "^axs 



304 



The Defence of Rome 



ius. It was said that Tarquin the Proud, now an old man, had in- 
stigated this movement and was present in the hostile army. So great 
was the terror of the Romans, that now, perhaps for the first time, 
they appointed a dictator who superseded the consuls in carrying on 
the war. The armies met at Lake Regillus, and the battle was long 
and fierce. The supporters of Tarquin charged with great fury. In 
the thick of the fight, twin heroes, mounted on white horses, were 
seen leading on the Romans. Under their inspiration the leader of 
the enemy was slain and his army routed. Strange to say, immedi- 
ately after the battle, the heroes disappeared and were seen at 
Rome with foaming horses, bearing the news of the victory. They 
were soon recognized as the twin gods, Castor and Pollux, and a 
temple was built in their honor by the fountain in Rome where they 
appeared. Soon after, the Latins made peace and entered into a 
league with the Romans. 

In one of the many wars with the mountain tribes the Roman 
army had been surrounded by the ^qui and was in danger of de- 
struction. News was brought to Rome. Hope was found only in 
the appointment, as dictator, of the first citizen of the state, Lucius 
Quinctius Cincinnatus. The messengers found him at work culti- 
vating his little farm of four acres across the Tiber. He wiped the 
sweat and dust from his face and, just as he was, received the con- 
gratulations of the messengers and their announcement of his ap- 
pointment. The desperate situation was explained; he came into 
the city, raised an army, defeated the enemy, and delivered his 
countrymen. Sixteen days from the time of receiving his appoint- 
ment he gave it up and returned to his farm. 

Caius Marcius, surnamed Cor'i-o-la'nus, from his valor at the capt- 
ure of the city of Corioli, incurred the hatred of the plebeians by 
his arrogant behavior and was condemned. He retired to the 
Volsci, and, being kindly received by them, became their leader. 
Led by him the Volsci brought the Romans to the brink of ruin. 
He took his stand a short distance from the city and devastated the 
country far and wide. All overtures for peace were rejected by the 
general, until his mother and wife, leading his children, came to him. 
As he rose to embrace his mother, she reproached him with his 
treachery to his native land, saying, "Before I receive your embrace, 
let me know whether I have come to an enemy or to a son." These 



New Officials 305 

words and the lamentations of the women overcame his resolution. 
He withdrew his army and Rome was saved. 

357. Division of Powers among New Officials. — In 

the centuriate army, if not in the centuriate assembly, 
the middle-class farmers, who formed the most consider- 
able element in the plebs, and who lived for the most 
part in the city of Rome along with the plebeian artisans 
and traders, were obviously so numerous and indispens- 
able that they did not long endure their exclusion from 
the government. During the troubled years of the fifth 
century B.C., to hold its course successfully between the 
ambitions of individual nobles and the demands of the 
aggressive plebeians was no easy task for the aristocratic 
government. The account of the events, which was 
handed down from these early times, has sadly mixed 
up the activities of the patricians in both these directions. 
But it is clear that with the increase of public business 
new magistracies were created whose very existence 
weakened the power of the consuls by distributing it 
among other officials. The most important of these censors, 
officials were the two censors, whose duty it was to keep a 
roll of the citizens, to decide as to the political status of 
each citizen and to determine the taxes each should pay. 
They supervised public and private morals; indeed, the 
censorship was a kind of national conscience, deciding 
as to what was good or bad citizenship and punishing 
breaches of good order. Two qucEstors already existed Quastors. 
to have charge of the public treasury; they received and 
paid out money on the order of the senate. Two other 
quaestors were now elected to perform similar duties with 
respect to the military chest. Two ce'diles were elected by 
the plebeians to care for the temple {ce'des) of Diana on 



306 The Defence of Rome 

the Aventine and other popular shrines. A little later 

two others — the so-called curule asdiles, were chosen by 

the people to look after public buildings and streets and 

preserve order and decency at all public festivals. Thus, 

important functions were performed, but not by the con- 

Over- suls. At the same time, whenever anyone seemed likely 

AmbTtious ^^ t)e rising too high in the state and aiming at supreme 

Leaders. powcr, the government made away with him. We are 

told of the ambitions and the fall of Spurius Cassius, of 

Spurius Mselius and of Coriolanus, 

As the story goes, the consul Spurius Cassius, who had deserved 
well of the Roman people by bringing the Latins back into union 
with Rome, devised a scheme for dividing certain conquered lands 
equally among the Romans and the Latins. This excited grave 
disturbances within the state, and the patricians tried to stir up the 
people against him. He, in his turn, sought to gain them to his side 
by refunding to them certain moneys which rightfully belonged to 
them. But they suspected him of aiming at royal power and refused 
the bribe. As soon as he went out of office, he was condemned and 
put to death. 

358. Growing Power of the Plebeians. — It seemed as if 
the government had nothing to fear from the plebeians, 
since all powers were in the hands of the patricians. 
But the plebeians could not fail to have their part in 
Rome's new wealth and importance. Some of them grew 
rich, and all were necessary in the wars which the state 
was waging. Indeed, they found themselves suffering 
most from the hardships which the wars brought with 
them. The raids of the mountaineers bore hard on the 
poorer farmers who could not care for their fields while 
fighting in the armies. The chains of debt and slavery 
hung the more heavily about them and their families. 
The patricians had no mercy upon them. The aristo- 



The Tribunes 307 

cratic government administered the law with merciless 
severity to suit the privileged class. When this yoke Rebellion 
became unendurable, the plebeians rose in rebellion. ^"^^^ ^'^'^ 
Of their uprising nothing is known except the result — Plebeian 
that irL< ^7i B.c ^four tribunes of the plebs were chosen, " ^°^^" 
one apparently as the leader of each of the four tribes 
(tribus) into which the urban population of Rome was 
at that time divided. The electorate consisted of the 
plebeians; and, in order to protect their officials against 
the magistrates, who were patricians, they consecrated 
to the infernal gods by a solemn curse anyone in private 
or official position who injured them or interfered with 
them in their work. Such a person could be slain with 
impunity, and the tribunes themselves were obligated to 
have him thrown from the Tarpeian rock. The work of 
the tribunes was in the first place to protect individuals 
who appealed to them against the injurious action of the 
magistrates; and that they might be at hand when needed 
they sat by day on a long bench in the market-place 
(forum), while their houses had to be open at all times to 
suppliants and they could not leave the city overnight. 
Outside the city they were powerless, and within it they 
could act only when appealed to personally. Their work 
in the second place was to serve as the executive officials 
of. the assembly of the plebeians which elected them. 
This was organized in such a fashion that the tribes 
were the voting groups. Hence it was called the comitia The Comit- 
j^'tributa. In each tribe every man's vote was equal to 
every other and the majority of votes determined the vote 
of the tribe. 

359. Number of Tribunes Increased. — The tribes did 
not long remain four in number. At some point in the 



ia Tributa. 



308 



The Defence of Rome 



Emancipa- 
tion of the 
Serfs. 



next twenty years sixteen new tribes were organized in 
the district lying in the immediate vicinity of Rome — the 
so-called rustic tribes. Since each of these received its 
name from a gens, the probability is that in it lay the 
estates of the interrelated noble families of which the 
gens was formed, and that the essential feature of the 
change is the admission of the clients or serfs to the as- 
sembly of the plebeians. Henceforth, there were only 
patricians and plebeians in Rome. At the same time, 
probably, the number of tribunes was raised from four to 
ten, so that henceforth each pair of tribes had one tribune. 
There was nothing to exclude the patricians from the comi- 
tia tributa, but it is only natural that they at first disdained 
to attend its meetings, and that at a later time attempts 
were made to exclude them, without success, however. 

The organization of the "masses" (plebeians) in the 
Peculiarity comitia tributa under the leadership of tribunes is the 
most striking feature in the constitutional growth of 
Rome. The natural outcome of such an uprising, and 
the one regularly reached in the cities of Greece (§ 137), 
was either that the aristocracy suppressed it and contin- 
ued to govern as before, or that it overturned the govern- 
ment and substituted a tyranny for the rule of the nobles. 

360. Increasing Power of the Tribunes. — In Rome, 
on the other hand, the temper of the people and the politi- 
cal sagacity of the senate prevented such extremes, and 
the outcome was that the revolution was recognized, its 
meetings tolerated, its officials allowed to do their work, 
not without interference doubtless, but none the less ef- 
fectively. No tyranny issued in Rome, but the power of 
the tribunes collectively speedily became tyrannical in 
urban affairs. The order and circumstances of the rise 



Growth of the Trilmnate 309 

of the tribunate are not known: we are simply told that Tribunate 

from interfering with the magistrates in their harsh treat- xy"i-anny in 

ment of the citizens individually, they acquired the right commis- 
sion. 
to veto proposals for new, and possibly harsh, laws made 

by the magistrates to the comitia centuriata; and since 
all laws were required to be presented and enforced by 
the magistrates, the tribunes became thus masters of 
the sovereign assembly. The senate chamber, into which 
only members and magistrates were admitted, was at first 
closed to the tribunes, but they drew their bench to the 
door of the building — no one daring to interfere with 
them — and listened to the discussions from without; and 
after a time they went so far as to draw it into the 
chamber itself and to interpose their veto on the propo- 
sitions laid by the magistrates before their advisers. At 
this stage the only thing which prevented the tribunes 
from controlling Rome was the fact that the senate had 
already made the tribunes its own tools. 

361. The Senate: Plebeians Admitted. — This was pos- 
sible through the fact that the senate had ceased to be 
an exclusively patrician body. It was recruited from 
ex-magistrates, who in turn were elected by the comitia 
centuriata. In this assembly the plebeians had always 
had a considerable representation though not enough to 
overcome the majority of centuries which was controlled 
by the patricians. Besides, the elections were subject 

to the veto of the senate. Clearly, it was the sagacity Sagacity of 
and patriotism of the senate which made possible the 
admission of plebeians to the magistracies and to its 
own membership. 

362. Reorganization of the Army. — The fact was that 
in the first half of the fourth century B.C., owing to the 



310 



The Defence of Rome 



The Three 
Lines and 
the Mani- 
ples. 



Plebeians 
Are Elected 
to Magis- 
tracies. 



Stress of the foreign wars, the organization of the army 
was changed, and instead of the sohd phalanx of spear- 
men ranged in ranks according to wealth and equipment, 
there came the distinctively Roman formation by lines 
(haslati, principes and triarii) and maniples. Henceforth, 
a man's position and value were determined solely by his 
skill and experience. In other words, the army became 
a democracy, the rules of its iron discipline, to which the 
patricians were subject like the others, being the equiva- 
lent of the laws in a constitutional state. The comitia 
of centuries did not become at the same time a comitia 
of maniples; but the army and the assembly were so 
closely associated in men's thinking that merit and 
distinction acquired by humble persons in war could not 
be ignored at elections. Hence distinguished plebeian 
soldiers were elected ofi&cers and generals, and at the 
expiry of their terms were enrolled in the senate, which 
came in consequence to consist of patres et conscripti. 

363. Plebeian Gains. — A plebeian was elected gen- 
eral for the first time in 400 B.C., but after 366 B.C. one 
consul was regularly, and the second not infrequently, 
a plebeian. During the second half of this century 
plebeians got elected to the dictatorship, censorship, 
praetorship and curule sedileships, and at its close in 
300 B.C. they were admitted to the priestly colleges by the 
Lex Ogulnia. They probably formed a large part of the 
senate at this date, so that this body now represented 
not the patricians or the plebeians, but a new class formed 
by their matrimonial and social fusion — the so-called 
office-holding nobility, and it was to this altered senate 
that the tribunes became subservient. 

The increase in the powers of the tribunate had been 



The Twelve Tables 311 

accompanied by an increase in popular rights. In the first 
place (45 1 B.C.) there came the codification of the law which, 
besides facilitating business, limited the caprice of the 
magistrates in conducting trials and inflicting penalties. 

364. The Decemvirs and the Law of the Twelve Tables, codifica- 
— A commission of ten men, the decemviri, was appointed J'"" °^ ^^^ 
to draw up a code which was later known as the law 
of the Twelve Tables and became the foundation of the 
Roman legal system. The procedure was the same as 
that of the appointment of the lawgivers in Greece 
(§ 136) and was probably copied from that. The old 
magistracy, the consuls and even the tribunes, ceased 
to be; the decemviri were given the entire direction of 
the state. They were to be elected yearly. But after 
two years the experiment did not succeed and the old 
administrative oflicers with the tribunes returned. 

Some of the laws of the Twelve Tables are as follows: 

One who has confessed a debt or against whom judgment has 
been pronounced shall have thirty days in which to pay it. 

Unless he pays the amount of the judgment, or some one in the Its Brutal 
presence of the magistrate interferes in his behalf (as vindex), the 
creditor is to take him home and fasten him in stocks or fetters. He 
is to fasten him with no less than fifteen pounds' weight or, if he 
choose, with more. [After he has been produced in court on three 
market days and no one has appeared to help him, let the creditors 
on the third occasion] cut him into pieces. Should they cut off more 
or less than their several shares the division is none the less legal. 

If a father sells his son three times, the son shall be free from the 
power of the father. 

Whenever a contract or conveyance is made, as it is specified by 
word of mouth, so let it be binding. 

(The owner of the land) must take care of the road. If he does 
not pave it, (the one having the right of way) may drive his team 
where he pleases. 



Spirit. 



312 



The Defence of Roine 



If a man maims a limb (of another), unless some agreement is 
arrived at, he shall be subject to retaliation {i.e., his limb shall be 
broken). 

Women shall not scratch their cheeks or inflict any wound (on 
themselves) on account of a funeral {i.e., not show excessive grief). 

If a patron defrauds his client, let him be accursed. 



365. The Lex Valeria. — More important still in this 
respect was the Lex Valeria of 301 B.C., by which all cit- 
izens were guaranteed the right of appeal from the judi- 
cial decisions of the magistrates when the death penalty, 
scourging or a fine exceeding thirty cattle and two sheep 

The Victory was involvcd. Strictly this made the tribunate no longer 
necessary, but it was indispensable to the senate for the 
control of rebellious magistrates and was retained — to 
become later on the scourge of its master. After 301 
B.C. all greater crimes were turned over to the quaestors, 
who brought them for trial to the comitia centuriata, 
while the tribunes served to impeach and prosecute 
political offences. The comitia centuriata was accord- 
ingly the chief judicial and electoral assembly at Rome. 
It could legislate still, but did so infrequently since this 
power was acquired in 287 B.C. by its less cumbrous rival 
the comitia tributa. 

366. Further Gains of the Plebeians. — The way for the 
equalization of the resolutions (plebiscita) of the tribal 
assembly with the laws of the centuriate asocmbly had 
been paved by the growth of the power of its executive, 
the tribunate, and by the fusion of the plebeians and 
patricians. The process, moreover, was aided by the par- 
tial loss of veto power over election and legislation which 
the senate sustained when in 339 B.C. (Lex Publilia) it was 
required to give its approval in advance of popular action. 



Traditional Constitutional History 3 1 3 

The final step was taken in 287 B.C. when the "masses" 
rose up and, seizing the Janiculum., held it against the 
government. They were suffering from the malprac- 
tices of the money-lenders, which various laws against 
usury had failed to check. The rich city men had much 
influence in the centuriate assembly because of their 
wealth, but were at a disadvantage in the tribal assem- 
bly in that they voted with the city multitude in four 
only of the tribes. What the "masses," vv^ho were TheSeces- 
obviously the peasants, wanted and what they got through p°g^s° 
their "secession" was an alleviation of debt, the con- 
cession of full legislative power to the comitia tributa 
and the abolition of the veto power of the senate. With 
this the constitution of the matured republic was practi- 
cally complete. 

367. The Traditional Series of Laws. — The later Ro- 
man traditional story has arranged this struggle of the 
aristocracy with their opponents in the state in a series 
of legal enactments secured at specific times under known 
magistrates. While, probably, the progress was in reality 
much more irregular and uncertain, this arrangement 
has value as showing how the Romans thought of the 
struggle between the patricians and plebeians. It is as 
follows : 

5^09 B.C. The right of Appeal was carried through the comitia 
centuriata by Valerius Poplicola (Lex Valeria). 

494 B.C. The First Secession of the plebeians and the appoint- 
ment of tribunes. 

Livy (§ 491) tells* how the plebeians, driven to despair by their 

debts and the unjust exactions of the military service, rose in revolt and 

marched in a body to the Sacred Mount, beyond the Anio ri\er, three 

miles from the city. Here they threatened to found a new city. Then 

*II, 32/. 



314 



The Defence of Rome 



the senate yielded and sent as an ambassador to the plebeians Me- 
nenius Agrippa, a man acceptable to them. He told them the fol- 
lowing fable: "At a time when' the members of the human body did 
not, as at present, all unite in one plan, but each member had its 
own scheme and its own function, the other parts v/ere provoked at 
seeing that the fruits of all their care, of all their toil and service, 
were applied to the use of their stomach, and that the stomach 
meanwhile remained at ease and did nothing but enjoy the pleasure 
provided for it. Whereupon they conspired together that the hand 
should not bring food to the mouth, nor the mouth receive it, if 
offered, nor the teeth chew it. While they wished by these harsh 
measures to subdue the stomach through hunger, the members them- 
selves and the whole body were reduced to the last stage of decay. 
From this it appeared that the office of the stomach was not confined 
to slothful indolence; that it not only received nourishment, but 
supplied it to the others, conveying to every part of the body that 
blood on which depend our life and vigor by distributing it equally 
through the veins after having brought it to perfection by digestion 
of the food." Applying this fable to the present case, the plebeians 
saw that their interests and those of the patricians were identical. 
A reconciliation was made between the two orders upon the basis 
that the plebeians should have officers of their own, known as trib- 
unes, invested with inviolable privileges, who should protect them 
against the consuls, and that it should be unlawful for any patrician 
to hold this office. 



471 B.C. The Publilian law (of Publilius Volero) gave the as- 
sembly of the plebeians a legal status and the tribune the right to 
propose resolutions for adoption there. 

451 B.C. The decemvirs were appointed. 

Livy tells* the story of the decemvirs in the following manner: 

368. The Decemvirs. — As the patricians alone had knowledge 
of the laws which they interpreted to their own liking, no plebeian 
got justice before the magistrates. The constant disputing about 
the laws was brought to an end by an agreement that they be pub- 
lished. First commissioners were sent to Greece to bring back a 
report of its laws and customs. When these had returned and set 



Legend of Appius Claudius 315 

forth the Greek codes of law, the people decided they would appoint 
no magistrates of any kind for one year, but intrust the entire govern- 
ment to ten men, known as decemvirs, who should administer the 
state and compile the laws of Rome. The leader of the decemvirs Appius 
was Appius Claudius who was consul at the time of their appoint- Claudius, 
ment. During the first year the ten drew up ten tables of the law 
and placed them in the Forum where every man might see them. 
A report was now spread abroad that two tables were lacking and 
so it would be wise to elect decemvirs (a second time) instead of other 
magistrates. This the people did; but now the real character of 
Appius Claudius stood forth and his conduct toward the plebeians 
became infamous. Indeed, the entire board of decemvirs set aside 
every principle of law and justice. They plundered and robbed 
some plebeians; they even scourged others and put them to death. 
They frequently came into the market-place attended by lictors 
carrying the axes bound up within the rods signifying the power of 
life and death. There was a certain centurion, Virginius, an estima- 
ble plebeian, who had betrothed his daughter to one Icilius who 
had once been a tribune of the plebs. The extraordinary beauty 
of this maiden, Virginia, excited the lust of the decemvir, Appius 
Claudius, who determined to possess her. To carry out his foul 
plan he ordered one of his clients to claim the girl as his slave. The Virginia, 
day following, as Virginia passed through the Forum on her way 
to school, she was seized by this agent of Appius who tried to lead 
her away. At once a great tumult arose among the commons, for 
her father, Virginius, and her betrothed, Icilius, had many friends. 
Whereupon the girl was summoned before the tribunal of the tyrant, 
Appius, who was compelled against his will to postpone proceedings 
in the case until Virginius could be summoned. In the meantime 
two of his loyal friends hastened with all the speed their horses could 
make to the camp where Virginius was defending his country. The 
anxious father hastened to the Forum where a vast crowd of citizens 
had assembled at daybreak. Here he begged them for their support, 
reminding his countrymen of the fact that he was daily fighting in 
the defence of their wives and children. Icilius, too, spoke so feelingly 
that the hearts of all were deeply stirred. But to these just appeals 
the heart of Appius was hardened. Indeed, he did not permit the 
father to make any proper presentation of his case, but gave judg- 



316 The Defence of Rome 

ment straightway that the maiden should be given over to the cus- 
tody of his client till the final decision was made. The wretched 
Virginius, drawing his child aside, snatched a butcher's knife from 
one of the stalls hard by and spoke thus to his daughter: 

"The time is come. See how he points his eager hand this way! 
See how his eyes gloat on thy grief, like a kite's upon the prey! 
With all his wit, he little deems, that, spurned, betrayed, bereft, 
Thy father hath in his despair one fearful refuge left. 
He little deems that in this hand I clutch what still can save 
Thy gentle youth from taunts and blows, the portion of the slave; 
Yea, and from nameless evil, that passeth taunt and blow — ■ 
Foul outrage which thou knowest not, which thou shalt never know. 
Then clasp me round the neck once more, and give me one more kiss; 
And now, mine own dear little girl, there is no way but this." 
With that he lifted high the steel, and smote her in the side, 
And in her blood she sank to earth, and with one sob she died.* 

After this dreadful deed Virginius calling down curses upon the 
head of Appius rushed forth to the army which now rose in revolt 
and elected as chief magistrates tribunes instead of decemvirs. But 
the decemvirs M^ould not yield their power and refused to resign till 
the army and the plebeians crossed the Anio to the Sacred Mount in 
a second secession. Nor would they readily abandon their idea of 
founding a new city there. Finally, two patricians, Valerius and 
Horatius, whom the plebeians trusted, were able to effect a com- 
promise. They arranged that the tribunes be restored and respected, 
and held out as further relief a series of enactments which came to 
be called after the negotiators the Valerio-Horatian laws. Then the 
seceders returned. Some of the decemvirs were banished, while 
Appius and one colleague were thrust into prison where some men 
said they died by their own hands. 

449 B.C. The Valerio-Horatian laws re-enacted the right of 
appeal and gave the comitia tributa power to enact legislation 
binding on all the people. 

445 B.C. The Canuleian law permitted intermarriage between 
patricians and plebeians. 

* Maraulay, Lays of Ancient Rome, "Virginia." 



Traditional Constitutional History 317 

444 B.C. Consular tribunes, who might be elected from plebeians 
as well as from patricians, were substituted for consuls elected from 
Datricians only. This arrangement continued till 366 B.C. 

366 B.C. The laws proposed by Licinius and Sextus provided 
that there should be no more consular tribunes, that at least one 
consul should be plebeian and that ten priests should have charge of 
the Sibylline books (§ 348), half of whom should be plebeians. 

Interest already paid was to be deducted from the principal and 
the balance to be paid in three equal annual installments. Of the 
public land no citizen was to occupy more than 500 jugera (300 
acres) and no one was to pasture on it more than 100 cattle and 500 
sheep. A certain proportion of the laborers employed on an estate 
were to be freeman. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. The main divisions of the new period 
with dates. 2. What is meant by imperium, century, con- 
nubium, right of appeal? 3. State briefly the position and 
power of the censor, the quasstor. 4. Distinguish between 
the two periods in the history of the tribune. 5. What was the 
traditional date of the Decemvirate? 6. What was the work 
of the tribunes? 7. Give reasons for the increase in numbers 
and powers of the tribunes. 8. Explain the principles govern- 
ing the reorganization of the army. 9. Summarize the gains 
of the plebeians in their struggle with the patricians up to 

287 B.C. 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the laws of the Twelve 
. Tables here given with those of the code of Hammurabi (§ 15). 
2. Compare the Decemvirate with the Greek lawgivers (§§ 135, 
136) in origin, purpose and results of work. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The New Aristocratic Re- 
public : General View of Its External History. How and Leigh, 
chs. 7, 10. 2. The Consul. How and Leigh, pp. 47-50. 3. The 
Decemvirate. How and Leigh, ch. 8. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The New 
Aristocratic Republic : General View of Its Constitutional His- 
tory to 390 B.C. .Shuckhurgh, ch. 8; Abbott, pp. 24-34. 2. Gen- 
eral View of Its External History. Shuckhurgh, chs. 6, 7. 3. 
The Consul. Shuckhurgh, pp.' 203-205; Abbott, p. 25. 4. The 
Tribune. Abbott, pp. 196-202. 5. The Decemvirate. Abbott, 
pp. 30-31. 6. The Roman Citizen, His Rights and Duties. 



318 



The UniJicatio7i of Italy 



Morey, pp. 63-64. 7. The Centuriate Assembly. Abbott, pp. 
26-27, 253-259. 8. The Question of the Comitia Tributa. 
Abbott, pp. 33, 259-261; Myres, p. 77 (note). 9. The Twelve 
Tables. Munro, pp. 54-55 (source); Shuckburgh, pp. 101-104. 
10. The Social Composition of the Roman People : A Common- 
Sense View. Botsford, Roman Assemblies, pp. 38-45. Ii. Ju- 
dicial Cases before Comitia Centuriata. Botsford, Roman 
Assemblies, pp. 248-260. 



Celts 
Occupy 
Valley of 
Po. 



Burning 
of Rome. 



3.— THE UNIFICATION AND ORGANIZATION 
OF ITALY 

390-264 B.C. 

369. The Celtic Invasion. — During the latter part of 
the preceding century swarms of Celts had been pouring 
down from central Europe over the Alpine passes into 
the valley of the Po. They filled it to overflowing, drove 
the Ligurians back into the western hills and the Etrus- 
cans into the western plain and began to push southward 
over the Apennines. We have already seen them forc- 
ing their way into Greece and Asia Minor, though at a 
later period (§ 307). They were rude, savage warriors, 
of huge bulk, with mighty weapons, attacking their op- 
ponents with an impetuous fury that usually carried all 
before it. Soon they appeared in the western plain, at- 
tracted by the fertility of the soil and the wealth of the 
inhabitants. Etruria was overrun; a bold band appeared 
in the vicinity of Rome, defeated the Roman army in a 
disastrous battle at the river Allia, captured and burned 
the city fabout 390 B.C.). 

The story goes that Roman ambassadors, sent into Etruria to 
treat with the oncoming Celts, had joined with the Etruscans in 
fighting against them. Incensed at this, the Celts under their 



The Celtic Wars 319 

chief, Brennus, advanced rapidly on Rome. The Romans, unpre- 
pared, hastily gathered a force and met the invaders eleven miles 
from Rome, at the river Allia, and Avere utterly defeated. A few es- 
caped into the citadel, leaving the gates of the city open. The Celts 
entered the city which was abandoned by all except the defenders of 
the citadel and the senators sitting in state in their porches. The 
city was set on fire and the citadel besieged. Once it was almost 
captured by night, only the sacred geese by cackling and clapping 
their wings aroused the defenders in time. The scattered Romans 
were united under a leader, Camillus, who was made dictator. The 
Celts were driven out. Then the city was rebuilt. 

370. Rome's Rapid Recovery. — Rome's day of power 
seemed over. It might have been so had the Celtic 
fury burst upon her alone. But other states had suffered 
in north and south. When Rome recovered and had re- 
built the city, she was still as strong as her neighbors and 
was soon ready to fight again with the invaders. The 
danger from the Celts was serious. Their bands were con- 
stantly coming over the Apennines. It was the question 
of questions whether they would not overpower all Italy. 
For over forty years, from 390 to 348 B.C., the peril was 
pressing. The Romans stood in the breach and, on two 
occasions within this period, they met and repulsed great 
Celtic raids. Thus the Romans really saved all that stands as 
Italy had gained in political power and civilization from ftif ""^^ °' 
being destroyed. The other states recognized this; Rome 
came to be regarded as the defender of the states of the 
western plain against attacks. People outside of Italy 
heard of it. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (§ 298) 
knew of her gallant defence against the Celts. From 
this time on, she ceased to be a mere petty state, fight- 
ing with neighbors, and stepped into the larger history 
of the world. 



320 The Unification of Italy 

371. Etruria Won. — During those forty years Rome 
finally overcame the neighboring states with which she 
had fought so long. Etruria, as far north as the Cimin- 
ian forest, including the city of Cae're, the Latin cities 
and even the Volsci, were united under Roman leadership. 
The river Li'ris was Rome's southern boundary. Of 
decisive importance was Rome's treatment of its old 

The Origin friend and ally, Caere. What it valued in the Roman 
Municipal State — social and commercial equality with Roman 
System. citizens — it got; what it valued in its own institutions, it 
preserved — its own franchise and offices, its own laws 
and cults. From the Roman point of view its inhabitants 
were Roman citizens who lacked the right of voting and 
holding office {cives sine suffragio). Naturally, they were 
required to fight in the Roman army and to sustain 
all the other burdens imposed upon Roman citizens. 
Hence they were called municipes (burden-bearers), 
and their city a municipality. The relation thus formed 
was so satisfactory to both parties that Caere was the 
first of a considerable group of cities which Rome in- 
corporated with this status. Such places were said to 
have "Caeritan rights." 

372. Wars with the Samnites. — The advance of the 
Celts southward had affected not only the people of the 
plain, but also the mountaineers. They had been pushed 
on and had crowded the southern tribes. Chief among 
the people that felt this pressure were the Samnites, a 
strong and warlike confederacy, possessing greater power 
and unity than any mountain peoples hitherto met by 

Conflict Rome. They naturally fell upon the plain beneath them, 
clmpania. ^^^ populous and fertile Campania. The Campanians 
appealed to Rome for aid and offered to accept Roman 1 



The Samnite Wars S21 

authority. Commercial interests united with ambition 
to lead the Romans to accept the offer and oppose the 
Samnites. The v\^ar that followed was long and trying, 
broken by intervals of peace; it lasted for half a century 
(343-290 B.C.) and drew almost all the states of central 
and southern Italy into its toils. 

The first contest was short (343-341 B.C.); the First 
peace that followed gave Rome the headship of Cam- -y^^r* 
pania. 

373. The Latin Revolt and the Organization of Latium, 
340-338 B.C. — The next three years saw the crushing of a 
rebellion of the Latin league, the cities of which began to 
fear that Rome was growing too strong. This sentiment 
was also shared by the Campanians who joined in the 
outbreak. A fierce struggle followed, the details of which 
are mostly legendary. Equal in respect of arms and mili- 
tary experience, the rebels were inferior in unity of pur- 
pose and organization. Hence they succumbed, and the 
league was dissolved. Some of its cities were deprived of Rome 
local government and ruled by prefects set over them by ^y^them^^ 
Rome {prcefecturcE) ; others were made municipalities, like Lowlands. 
Caere. A few specially favored cities remained allies, and 
retained their independence. A perpetual and irrevo- 
cable treaty (Jozdus) bound them to furnish troops to 
Rome and to abstain from diplomatic intercourse with 
one another or with other nations. All their foreign af- 
fairs were to be managed by Rome. This was the form 
of treaty by which Rome brought subjected communities 
into her federation as allies. In 330 B.C. her territory ex- 
tended from the Ciminian forest to the bay of Naples and 
from the sea to the Apennines. It included Rome and 
Capua, the two greatest non-Greek cities in Italy, and 



322 The Unification of Italy 

had a population of more than half a million. Its in- 
habitants were all of Etruscan or Italic stock. 

374. The First Greek Ally. — In 327 B.C. a new element 
was added when the first Greek city was brought into the 
federation. This was Neapolis, which, trusting in its 
fleet and its strong walls, defied its formidable neighbor 
and only consented to become an ally of Rome after a 
troublesome contest. Into this the Samnites entered 
bringing aid to the Greek city; and therewith the great 
second Samnite war began. Rome had the advantage of 
allies in Apulia and in the central Apennines among the 
mountain tribes there who feared their active Samnite 
neighbor. Hence she was able to conduct operations from 
both the eastern and western lowlands. The contestants 
were evenly matched and the struggle long and obstinate. 
The 375. The Second Samnite War, 326-304 B.C. — After 

Forks" ^ a severe defeat at the battle of the Caudine Forks (321 
B.C.), where their soldiers were compelled to pass under a 
yoke made of three spears as a token of disgraceful sub- 
mission, the Romans steadily gained, but in 315 B.C., 
while their main army was operating in Apulia, the Sam- 
nites advanced through Campania to Latium and defeat- 
Lautuiae ed the Romans at Laut'-u-lae. Capua, thereupon, went 
Revoit^of over to the enemy, but came back in the following year 
Capua. after the main army of the Romans had routed the Sam- 
nites. The Samnites stirred up the peoples of the north 
who feared Rome's growing power; the Etruscans joined 
them and the Umbrians of the upper Apennines; but a 
Roman army advanced up the Tiber into Etruria and 
carried such consternation into the whole district that the 
Etruscans made peace. The decisive factor in the struggle 
was, however, the systematic Roman operations of the last 



Defeat of the Samnites 323 

decade. By a series of fortress colonies (Latin) placed at The Latin 
the exits from Samnium on the Liris and Volturnus rivers " °"'^^' 
the area of war was limited to the enemy's country, and in 
order to bring the Roman troops quickly to the main 
scene of action a great highway, the famous Via Appia, The via 
was built from Rome to Capua. Thus hemmed in ^^^^^' 
and assailed, the Samnites finally sued for peace in 304 
B.C. By the treaty then made Rome held all its con- 
quests. 

376. The Third Samnite War, 298-290 B.C.— The re- 
appearance of the Celts stirred up the third struggle, in 
which Etruscans, Umbrians, Lucanians and Celts united 
under Samnite direction for a final attempt to break Ro- 
man headship (298 B.C.). The culminating point was The 
the battle of Sen-ti'num (295 B.C.), in Umbria, where the v-°to°'°^f 
soldiers of the alliance were beaten by the Romans (§ 396). Rome at 
The treaty which ended the war in 290 B.C. settled Rome's 
superiority. The Etruscans and Gauls (Senones and 

Boii) then felt the weight of Rome's hand, and in 285-283 
B.C. they were crushed and forced to acknowledge Rome's 
hegemony. Roman authority was now supreme from the 
upper Apennines to the foot of Italy. The mountaineers 
would never more trouble the plain. 

377. Difficulties with Magna Graecia. — Rome's sphere 
of- influence now bprdered on the territory of the Greek 
cities in southern Italy. The influence of Greek cult- 
ure and political life upon Rome had already been con- 
siderable and the opportunities of commercial, inter- 
course had brought both parties into friendly relations. 
Some time before 300 B.C. a treaty between Rome and 
Tarentum had been made. Thus, when the mountain- 
eers, defeated in the western plain, began to make in- 



324 



The Unificatioji of Italy 



The 

" Assembly 

of Kings." 



roads into Magna Graecia, it was natural that several of 
the Greek cities should look to Rome for defence. But 
Tarentum was not so inclined; as Rome gained head- 
ship over the other Greek cities by relieving them from 
their enemies, she took offence. How she gained the 
help of the valiant Pyrrhus of Epirus has already been 
told (§ 331). In th.e war that followed (281-272 B.C.), 
the skilful Greek general at first defeated the Romans 
at Her-a-clei'a in 280 B.C. and at As'cu-lum in 279 B.C. by 
his elephants and his cavalry. It was the first meeting 
between the Roman legion and the Macedonian phalanx. 
In the interval between these engagements he had ad- 
vanced to within three days' march of Rome, but on 
receiving no support from the western lowlands he re- 
turned to Tarentum to winter quarters. Now, wishing to 
get rid of his obstinate adversary in order to embark on 
his Sicilian enterprise (§ 331), Pyrrhus entered into nego- 
tiations with Rome and sent Cineas, an eloquent rheto- 
rician, to present his case to the senate. Cineas was pro- 
foundly impressed by the dignity and incorruptibility of 
the senators, and, indeed, if it is true that the old blind 
senator, Appius Claudius (§379), came to the meeting in 
his litter and made an impassioned appeal to his colleagues 
never to make a pact with an enemy on Italian soil, he had 
some reason for the opinion which he expressed to his 
master that the Roman senate was an "assembly of kings." 
The mission of Cineas was frustrated by the intervention 
of Carthage whose offer of a defensive and offensive al- 
liance against Pyrrhus the Romans accepted. None the 
less, Pyrrhus departed for Sicily. On his return he was 
beaten at Beneventum (275 B.C.) and returned to Epirus, 
leaving Tarentum to make terms with Rome as best she 



Appius Claudius, ^'^the J3li?id" 325 

could. She submitted and Roman power soon became 
supreme over all the southern coast of Italy (270 B.C.). 

378. Political Changes. — This period of more than a 
century, in which Rome extended her sway in Italy, was 
marked by important changes in her inner life. These 
have been already described in §§ 360-366 above. The 
outcome, as we have seen, was the ascendancy in the 
Roman state of the farming part of the population. 
This result was not reached without opposition, however; 
for in the last stage of the struggle between the patricians 
and the plebeians v/e find traces of a keen contest for 
political power between the city and the country. 

379. The Policy of Appius Claudius. — The great 
champion of the urban elements was Appius Claudius, 
the censor, in 312 B.C. (§397). To him they owed the 

first of the wonderful Roman aqueducts. He enrolled in Rise of 
all the tribes those whose property was not in land and tinctions!" 
even freedmen, thus giving to them the same citizen rights 
as the landed proprietors. But in the following censor- 
ship they were again restricted to the four city tribes and 
the city population was thus unable, even if it flocked in 
full force to the Forum where the assembly met, to vote 
down the relatively few farmers who formed the usual dele- 
gation from each of the country tribes. It had been long 
since the rule that, though all citizens were eligible for 
office, only the rich landed proprietors were actually 
chosen. The officials when their term of office expired 
went into the senate,* v/hich, therefore, was a body of 
wealthy squires who had experience in political and mili- 

* The right of ex-ofScials to be considered first in the choice of senators 
was established by the Ovinian law, by which also the censor was sub- 
stituted for the consul as the official who appointed the senators. This 
law dates from some time before ^12 B.C. 



326 



The Organization of Italy 



tary affairs. Wealth, coupled with wisdom, has the best 
chance for leadership; hence it very naturally came about 
that the senate took the direction of affairs, although the 
people had the power. The oligarchy of wealth and 
official position occupied the place of the oligarchy of 
birth; the people accepted the change and continued to 
be led. 

380. Roman Organization of Italy. — No less remark- 
able than the gradual extension of Roman power over 
the territory of Italy was Rome's organization of the 
lands acknowledging its headship. Rome's membership 
in the Latin league at the beginning of its career was a 
determining factor in its policy toward neighbors; the 
city stood as a chief among equals, not as a conqueror 
ruling subjects. 

381. Incorporation of Conquered People as Citizens. 
— In harmony with this fundamental idea the Romans, 
first of all, made many of the communities they absorbed 
parts of the Roman state and their people citizens. 
These were the municipalities already described (§ 371). 
Since they got all the solid advantages of Roman citizen- 
ship and were not deprived of their own institutions which|| 
they cherished highly, their status was an attractive one' 
and nearly all the larger cities in the western lowlands 
entered the Roman state in this way. Less fortunate 
were the districts of which the cities like Veil were de- 
stroyed, or on which there had been no urban centres prior 
to the conquest. These were assigned to Roman settlers, 
and their inhabitants, so far as they remained, were com- 
pelled to become Roman citizens. Still less fortunate 
was a group of maritime cities in which Rome placed 
as a garrison (cle'ru-chy) to secure the harbor a colony of 



Citizens vs. Allies 327 

normally three hundred Roman citizens who settled as 
an aristocracy in the midst of the local inhabitants. In 
return for garrison duty they were exempted from ser- 
vice in the Roman legions. As a result of these various 
measures, groups of Roman citizens were found scattered 
all over Italy. At the end of this period, those with full 
rights numbered not far from three hundred thousand 
men and occupied about a third of all the territory 
of Italy. They were organized into thirty-five tribes, 
meeting and voting in the comitia. As for the local gov- 
ernment of such communities as possessed it, this was 
largely in their own hands and was formed on Roman 
models. But in the case of the administration of Justice, Prefects, 
prefects were sent out from Rome to hold court in the 
municipia at regular times, since Roman law was new 
to them. Likewise, where districts in which no cities 
existed were taken into the Roman state, Roman pre- 
fects were placed in charge, 

382. Latin Allies: Colonies. — The rest of the com- 
munities in Italy were the "allies." There were two 
kinds of them. The most favored allies were those given Aiued 
rights enjoyed formerly by the old Latin league, which '*'^^* 
had now disappeared. The members could trade with 
Rome and, when specially favored, marry into Roman 
families.* These were the colonists sent out from Rome 
and Latium to occupy land taken in the conquest. Like 
the Greek colonies in general they were established as 
new city-states having their own laws, magistrates and 
citizenship. Since they were usually planted in strategic 
positions in the midst or at the edge of a hostile country, 
they were normally quite large, one, Venusia, being twenty 

* These rights were technically called commercium and connubium. 



3^8 The Organization of Italy 

thousand strong. Unlike the Greek colonies, they were 
bound to the metropolis by an indissoluble tie of interest 
as well as by an inviolable treaty. These were called 
"Latin Colonies." A Roman who went out to join a 
"Latin colony" gave up his citizenship, and he could 
regain it on returning home only when he had left a son 
behind to keep his place in the garrison colony. In addi- 
tion to the privilege mentioned, he could share in the 
booty of Roman v/ars and claim his part of the public 
land. In course of time these privileges were somewhat 
restricted, but the "Latin colony" was always on a higher 
plane than other allied communities. 

383. The Italian Allies. — Next below these were the 
Italian allies, each of which had a separate treaty with 
Rome defining its status. All allies of whatsoever status 
could have relations with each other only through Rome. 
While they had independence so far as home politics was 
concerned, Rome decided on all foreign affairs, matters of 
war and peace and questions relating to their commercial 
interests. Each ally was bound to furnish troops to the 
Roman army, or ships to the Roman navy, but paid no 
tribute. 

384. Italy United under Rome. — Thus was slowly and 
steadily built up a united Italy with its centre and soul 
in Rome. The state itself, made up of the capital city, 
the Roman colonies and the municipia, was bound up 
closely with the allies, both those given the Latin right 
and those having separate treaties with Rome. The 
interests of all gathered about the capital, yet a large 
share of local independence preserved the sense of free- 
dom and the power of initiative. The system of public 
roads leading from the city to strategic points aided in 



The New Army 329 

binding these cities to Rome. It is not to be wondered 
at, therefore, that, as this period drew to a close, a com- 
mon name arose both for land and people. The de- 
fence against the alien Celts stimulated this sense of 
oneness. The land was now called Italy, and the people The 
of Italy, distinguishing their common dress from that of Nam^°° 
the Celts, were called "men of the toga." 

385. Military Reorganization. — During the years in 
which the union of Italy was accomplished, important 
advances were made in the Roman military organiza- 
tion. The old Servian system (§350) was not equal to 
the new demands, either in its conditions of service or its 
organization (§ 362). Instead of requiring the citizen 
to equip and support himself, the state now supplied 
him arms and rations and paid him for his service. He 
was also usually granted a share of the booty, although 
in theory all that was taken belonged to the state and was 
turned into the public treasury. As respects organization, 
the arrangement of the men in the legion according to 
property gave way, as we have seen, to that according to 
valor, ability and experience. The solid phalanx on the 
Greek model was found unable to stand the fierce rushes 
of the Celts and the Samnites, and was altered to a loose 
formation. The legion was divided into three lines {has- The New 
tati, principes and triarii) separated sharply from each the Legion, 
other, the first two armed with the pilum for hurling and 
the sword, the third with the pike or spear for mass 
action. Each line was made up of ten companies called 
maniples. Each maniple of the first two lines had a 
front of twenty men and a depth of six men (the third 
had a depth of three men), and each was separated from 
the other by a space of at most its own width. The 



330 The Organization of Italy 

maniples of the second line were placed so as to face the 
spaces made by the first line, and those of the third line 
faced the spaces left by the second. In battle, the first 
line {hastati), if beaten back, could retire into the space 
left in the second line {principes) , which then took up the 
attack, while the third line {triarii), which was com- 
posed of the most able and experienced veterans, could 
if necessary advance through the openings and permit 
the other lines to retire. Behind each line was a body of 
maniples of light-armed troops two men deep, making 
four thousand two hundred men in the legion. The sol- 
diers were armed with helmets, cuirasses and shields for 
defence, and with swords, pila, pikes and darts for at- 
tack. The allied troops fought on each side of the legion. 
The cavalry, placed outside the wings, was insignificant 
in numbers and played no great part. To avoid a sud- 
den attack a Roman army made a fortified camp whenever 
it halted for the night. Every voting citizen between the 
ages of seventeen and forty-six v/as liable to be levied for 
military service; he must take the solemn military oath 
before the gods and was then entirely under the authority 
o'f the commander, who exacted absolute obedience and 
had the power of life and death. The discipline was ex- 
ceedingly severe. A great victory was the occasion of 
celebrating a triumph, providing that the senate gave 
its consent. In solemn and splendid procession, at- 
tended by magistrates and senators, the spoils of war 
before him, the victorious general, seated on a chariot, 
a laurel crown on his head, and his face painted red 
like the gods, rode into the city at the head of his 
troops to the temple of Jupiter, where he offered thanks- 
giving. 



Roman Occupations 331 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what were the following noted: 
Sentinum, Caere, Beneventum, Aristotle? 2. What is meant 
by "men of the toga," Licinian laws, maniple, cleruchy, has- 
tati, principes, triarii, municipalities? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare a "Latin" with a "Ro- 
man" colony. 2. Compare both with a Greek colony (§§ 113- 
115)- 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The War with Veil and the 
Legend of Camillus. How and Leigh, pp. 80-84. 2. The Dis- 
solution of the Latin League. How and Leigh, pp. 97-99, 102- 
105. 3. The Samnites and Sabines Submit to Rome. How 
and Leigh, pp. 1 14-120, 130. 4. The Affairs of Rome and 
Tarentum. How and Leigh, pp. 122-130. 5. Organization of 
Italy. How and Leigh, pp. 133-135. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Camillus 

and the Story of the Celtic Invasion. Plutarch, Life of Camil- 
lus; Seignobos, pp. 60-64. 2. The Samnite Wars. Myres, chs. 
lo-ii. 3. The Latin Revolt. Shuckburgh, pp. 131-133. 4. 
Pyrrhus from the Greek and from the Roman Point of View 
(§§ ii'^> 377)- 5- History of the Plebeian Struggle after 390 b.c. 
Abbott, pp. 34-53; Shuckburgh, ch. 13; Myres, ch. 9; Fowler, City 
State, ch. 7. 6. The Licinian Laws : Special Study. Munro, pp. 
57-60 (sources); Botsford, pp. 85-86; Abbott, pp. 36-37; 7. Ro- 
man Organization of Italy. Abbott, pp. 57-60; Botsford, pp. 
62-63; Myres, pp. 146-149. 8. The Roman Army. Seignobos, 
ch. 7; Shuckburgh, pp. 214-218. 9. Political Prosecutions be- 
fore the Comitia Tributa. Botsford, Roman Assemblies, pp. 319- 
325- 

386. The Old Roman Life. — This age saw old Ro- 
man life at its highest point of strength and achievement. 
It was to suffer an almost complete transformation as 
Rome expanded. We may pause, therefore, to sketch 
some of its characteristic features. 

387. Occupations. — The Roman was devoted chiefly Agri- 
to agriculture. At first, cattle-raising, later, the growing 
of grain, occupied him. The product of his farm was 
principally wheat, but he also grew vegetables and fruit. 



culture. 



332 



Old Roman Life 



The olive was widely cultivated. Of domestic animals 
he had cattle, horses, sheep and hogs. The farmer with 
his sons did the work, for the farms were usually small. 
Every eighth day was a market-day, when the farmer 
went to town with his produce. In the city industry was 
well advanced. The workingmen had already organized 
into unions or guilds for the purpose of handing down 
the secrets of their craft from generation to generation. 
Eight of these unions are known — the goldsmiths, the 
coppersmiths, the dyers, the fullers (laundrymen) , the 
shoemakers, the carpenters, the potters and the flute- 
blowers. Trading and commerce were profitable em- 
ployments, but the retail traders, the seamen and the 
artisans were not highly regarded by the Romans. The 
same was true of the Greeks (§ 200) and to a certain ex- 
tent of all civilized peoples. But in Rome the true gentle- 
man was always a farmer. This fact shows how dear to 
the Roman heart were the pursuits of agriculture. Yet 
the profits of commerce attracted the better classes who 
had capital and wanted to increase it rapidly; unwilling 
to mix in commerce themselves, they employed slaves or 
dependent freedmen to carry on such pursuits in their 
interest. Thus the business of Rome fell largely into the 
hands of such classes and became still more unworthy of 
freemen. 

388. Money. — The standard of business value in the 
earliest time was cattle, as is shown by the Latin word 
for money, pecunia (from peciis, "cattle"). But soon a 
change to copper took place; it is witnessed to by our 
word " estimate " (Latin cEstimare) , from ces, " copper." A 
pound of it cast in a mould was called an as and became 
the unit of Roman coinage. When Rome had united all 



PLATE XXVII 




^^J^ 










TYPICAL COINS 



PLATE XXVm 












TYPICAL COINS 



The House 333 

Italy, a silver coinage was introduced. In 268 B.C. the 
silver denarius, equal to ten asses, appeared.* 

389. The House. — As might be expected of a com- 
munity composed chiefly of farmers, Roman life was 
simple and rude. The house originally consisted of one 
room, the atrium, in which all the family lived. It had no 
windows and but one door. Opposite the door was the 
hearth. An opening in the centre of the roof let the 
smoke out and the light and rain in. The latter fell 
into a hollow in the floor just beneath the opening. In 
time, this primitive house was enlarged on the sides and 
in the rear. The walls were built of stone or sun-baked 
brick covered with stucco; the floor was of earth mixed 
with stone and fragments of pottery pounded down hard; 
the roof of thatch, shingles or tile. A couch, table and Furniture, 
stool constituted the furniture. The lamp was a flat, 
covered vessel holding oil; through a hole in the top a 
coarse wick was drawn, whence came a feeble, flickering 
light. In cold weather a box containing hot coals sup- 
plied heat. At meal-time the family sat on stools around 
the table. Dinner was served in the middle of the day. 
The chief food in early times was ground meal boiled Food. 
with water. Thus the Roman, like the Scotchman, 
grew strong on porridge. Pork was the favorite meat; 
eight Latin words for hog and half a dozen for sausage 
testify to this. Bread of wheat or barley was baked 
in flat, round cakes. Olive-oil, cheese and honey were 
used with it. The usual drink was water or milk. Wine 

* Later, from about 217 B.C. to the time of Nero, the denarius was 
equal to sixteen asses. The sestertius was one-fourth of the denarius. 
A sum of money equal to one thousand sestertii was called sestertium. 
The denarius, like the attic drachma, was equal to about twenty cents of 
our money. 



334 



Old Roman Life 



Dress. 



The Toga. 



Jewelry. 



Athletics. 



was not common. When drunk it was mixed with water. 
Various vegetables, such as beans, onions, cabbages and 
turnips, and fruits, such as figs, apples, pears and plams, 
were cultivated. The frugality of the Roman in his food 
was matched by the simplicity of his dress. About his 
loins he wore a strip of cloth over which he drew a short- 
sleeved woollen shirt or tunic reaching to his knees. This 
was the ordinary dress while at home. When he ap- 
peared in public, he threw over this shirt a gracefully 
folded blanket of white wool called a toga. It was this 
which became his characteristic garment, distinguishing 
him from all other men. In bad weather or on a journey 
a cloak might be worn. The women's garments con- 
sisted of two tunics for the house and a wrap (palla) for 
the street. Neither sex wore hats or stockings. The 
feet were protected by sandals or shoes. The hair and 
beard were worn long in early times, but, later, men 
shaved their faces and cut their hair close. Professional 
barbers appeared in Rome about 300 B.C. Every citi- 
zen wore a seal-ring on the joint of the finger; women 
were granted greater privileges in the matter of jewelry 
and they were very fond of display. Their hair was 
put up elaborately; they had fans, parasols and all sorts 
of rings, bracelets, chains and breastpins. 

390. Amusements. — Amusements had also their place 
in old Roman life. Babies played with rattles; children 
with dolls, carts, tops and hoops. When childish sports 
were put away, the young Roman found his amusement 
in the athletic exercises of the Campus Martius, in run- 
ning, wrestling and feats of arms. These were, however, 
training for citizenship and service; it has been well said 
that the Romans had no idea of sport for sport's sake. 



The Family 335 

Life was too stern and strenuous. For relaxation they The Races, 
turned to exciting spectacles, of which the chief were 
the chariot races. They were run in the Circus Maxi- 
mus, which lay between the Palatine and the Aventine, 
over a narrow elliptical course covered with sand; seven 
laps, about four miles, were run; the turns were sharp 
and dangerous; chariots were liable to be smashed and 
drivers killed; all this raised excitement to fever heat. 
But no Roman participated except as a spectator; freed- 
men or slaves acted as charioteers. The same was true The 
of the theatrical exhibitions. The stage in the Circus was ^'^^*'''^- 
occupied by persons whom the Romans regarded as 
disreputable; to dance or to play in public was the part 
of foreigners or slaves. To the unbending, respectable, 
dignified Roman the point of view of the Greek (§ i6o, 
179, 209) regarding all these things was incomprehen- 
sible and disgraceful. He would condescend to laugh, 
but would not dream of taking part. 

391. The Family. — The centre about which old Ro- 
man life revolved was the family (§ 342). Its head was The 
the paterfamilias ("father of the family"), the oldest p^^^"'" 
male member, who had absolute power over the per- 
son and property of the other members, whether wife, 
sons and their families, or unmarried daughters. A new- 
born child was laid at his feet, and by taking it up he 
decided that it should be received into the family. Oth- 
erwise it was carried away and abandoned. When a 
daughter was married, she passed under the authority 
of her husband's father. A son must marry at the bid- 
ding of his father; his position in the state was depend- 
ent on the father. Of course these powers of the father 
were practically limited; a wife could not be divorced 



336 



Old Roman Life 



nor a child put to death by him without good cause and 
after consultation with other members of the family; 
nor could the family property be disposed of arbitrarily. 

Marriage. Marriage was a religious as well as a civil affair; a solemn 
betrothal preceded, sealed by a ring placed on the third 
finger of the left hand; the consent of the bride was re- 
quired; the marriage ceremony consisted of the joining 
of hands, the signing of a contract, sacrifices by the re- 
ligious officials and other ceremonials. On the wedding- 
day the mother dressed the bride, who wore a veil; the 
husband went through a form of taking her by force from 
her father's house; a wedding-feast and a bridal proces- 
sion were features of the affair. The bride brought a 
dowry to her husband. A matron at Rome, in contrast 
with Greek custom (§ 202), held a very important posi- 
tion. She managed the household, trained her children, 
received her guests in person, was honored in public and 
was given a special place at entertainments. She engaged 
in special religious festivals and could give testimony in the 
courts. It has been said that marriage gave the Roman 
woman "a position unattained by the women of any 

chUdren. other nation in the ancient world." Children, particu- 
larly sons, were highly prized and carefully trained. On 
the son depended the future of the family. The day of 
the giving the boy his name* was a festal time in which 
an amulet {bulla) was hung about his neck and presents 

Adoption, were made. If a family had no son, one might be for- 
mally adopted and he became in all respects a member 



The 
Mother. 



* First of all, he bore the name of the house (gens) ; this was the nomen, 
e.g., TuUius. Preceding this came the personal name (prcenomen) given 
a few days after birth, e.g., Marcus. Following the nomen was the 
cognomen or family name, e.g., Cicero. 



Education 337 

of the family and took the family name in addition to 
nis own. 

392. Importance of the Family in Roman Life. — All 

these facts help us to see how fundamentally impor- 
tant the family was at Rome. In the case of the no- 
bles it included the dead as well as the living, all bound 
together in one solemn unity. On the preservation of 
the family depended the continuance of the sacrificial 
rites in which living and dead were thought to join. 
Hence the birth and rearing of children was all-important. 
In the atrium (§ 389) stood the wax images of the dead 
to remind the living of the abiding tie of relationship. 
The paterfamilias received his authority over the family 
as its representative, the trustee of its property, the pledge 
of its continuance. Thus the importance of any Individ- superior 
ual member was subordinate to and sunk in the higher individual 
unity of the whole. Obedience and service were the 
watchwords; devotion to the interests of the family was 
superior to all personal advantage. No wonder that 
under this training men of honor and fidelity, women of 
discretion and purity, grew up to serve and glorify their 
fatherland. 

393. Education. — Education corresponded to the 
thoroughly practical bent of the Roman character. Up 
to seven years of age the children were trained at home 

by the mother. Then the boy was sent to school, while of oiris. 
the girl was kept at home to be further instructed in 
domestic arts. Roman women were not highly educated, 
yet the liberty they enjoyed, the companionship of their 
husbands and family and the respect shown them in 
society were in themselves an education. It is said that 
they spoke the best and purest Latin. Boys were sent to of Boys. 



338 



Old Roman Life 



private schools. They were attended by a slave (called 
"pedagogue") and were taught by slaves or freedmen the 
rudiments of education in reading, writing and arith- 
metic. Work began before sunrise. The teacher was 
paid a small fee and the discipline was harsh. No text- 
books were used, except that the code of the Twelve 
Tables (§ 364) was read, written and committed to mem- 
ory. It is claimed that, although higher subjects were 
not taught, the elements at least of education were more 
generally diffused among the Romans than elsewhere in 
antiquity, except in Athens and other Greek cities. 

394. Public Life. — The participation in public life was 
also educative. The youth at about seventeen years of 
age attained his majority and began his public career; 
he laid aside his toga pratexta and assumed the toga 
virilis; surrounded by his family and friends he went to 
the Forum and, amid congratulations, his name was en- 
rolled on the list of citizens and he was free to attend 
the several comitia. On a favorable day the comitia 
convened by order of the magistrate. The proper sacri- 
fices were made. The magistrate made known the pur- 
pose of the assembly; only those could speak to whom 
he gave permission. Each citizen gave his vote orally 
in the group to which he belonged; the decision of the 
majority in the group determined its vote, which then 
was counted as one in determining the final vote of the 
groups. The meeting closed before sunset and could be 
adjourned by the magistrate at any time, should he 
regard the omens as unfavorable. The citizen was con- 
stantly under the strict surveillance of the authorities. 
The censor (§357) examined into his private life and 
punished any breaches of social custom by fines or even 



Applied Science 330 

suspension from civic rights. In the administration of importance 
justice he appeared before judicial officers, such as the 
praetors; no lawyers existed; plaintiff and defendant 
must plead their own causes; the magistrate acting under 
the written law of the Twelve Tables interpreted its ap- 
plication and handed the case definitely formulated over 
to the judex for judgment. An appeal in criminal cases 
might be taken to the comitia. Private persons (judices) 
were regularly appointed by the magistrate to hear cases 
and give decisions. Out of all this procedure came in 
course of time the body of public and private law which 
is one of Rome's chief glories. 

395. Science: Its Practical Character. — In the higher 
ranges of art and science we must not expect old Rome 
to excel. Its science was practical like all the rest of its 
works. The year consisted of twelve months; it began 
in March. The days of the month were indicated by 
their relation to the moon's changes. All the days of 
the year were given a special religious significance, either 
good or bad. Business could be done only on the good 
days, which made up more than two-thirds of the year. 
In 304 B.C. a calendar on which the character of the days The Caien- 
was indicated was published. The whole arrangement 
was quite imperfect. In architecture the most charac- Architect- 
teristic achievements were the roads, the bridges and the 
aqueducts, which began to be built on a grand scale. 
The arch had a great history at Rome. The chief priest- 
hood had a name which connected it with bridge-building 
(pontifices). The solidity of the Roman character was 
already reflected in the architecture. In decorative and other Art. 
plastic art but a few beginnings had been made. The 
bronze wolf in the Forum and the bronze Jupiter of the 



340 



Old Roman Life 



Capitol date from about 290 B.C. ; the stone sar-coph'a-gus 
of Scipio, from a little later time, was a simple but strong 
work. A beautiful casket of like date illustrates as do 
the other works of art the source of the artistic impulse; 
Greeks were the teachers of Rome in these things. The 
beginnings of painting belong also to this same age. 
Literature was even less advanced. The laws of the 
Twelve Tables constituted the one Roman book. Bal- 
lads and heroic poems in a rude metre were sung. Some 
public records, lists of magistrates, religious rituals and 
the like — -these alone constituted the barren Roman lit- 
erature of the time. 

396. Morals and Religion.— The rude, severe and 
scrupulous temper of the old Roman is revealed in his 
moral standards and religious life. Much of it has ap- 
peared in what has already been told — the power of the 
father, the subordination of the individual to family and 
state, the exposure of new-born children, the position of 
the slave in the household, a mere unhuman chattel. In 
its worthiest manifestation this old Roman spirit showed 
itself in the conviction that everyone had his place and 
work in the community. Let a man do his work in the 
sphere in which he is born; be it father, son or slave, be 
it patron or client, be it consul or soldier in the ranks — ■ 
let him not seek to be above his place and work or fall 
beneath it. Religion was still of the type which has 
been described (§§347-348); but an important change 
had taken place in the character of the gods. On com- 
ing into close relations with the Greeks the Romans 
found that this people possessed deities not unlike their 
own. Jupiter was, accordingly, equated with Zeus, Juno 
with Hera, Minerva with Athena, Mars with Ares, Venus 



Eeligion 341 

with Aphrodite, Diana with Artemis, and so on. At once 
the Roman deities ceased to be vague figures and got the 
forms and personahties of their Greek counterparts, so 
that they could be plastically conceived and represented 
in marble and bronze. The Romans, too, were saved the 
pains of working out a sacred history for their gods and 
goddesses by these identifications, since they applied to 
their native deities the whole rich circle of Greek myth- 
ology. Where, finally, Greece had a desirable deity for 
which Rome lacked an equivalent, the Sibylline books 
were consulted and the foreign deity was formally in- 
troduced into Rome. Thus came As-cu-lap'ius, the Greek 
god of healing, in 293 B.C. None the less old Roman 
habits and feelings persisted; everywhere the divine 
powers were present and their relations to man were 
worked out in great detail and their favorable action 
secured by complex rituals. Still lived the profound 
faith in the fidelity of the gods to their word and the 
corresponding obligation and opportunity of man to do 
his part toward them. This reaches its highest point in 
the voluntary self-sacrifice of the individual for the in- 
terest of the state — the devotio, as it was called. 

In the decisive battle of the Samnite war (Sentinum) the consul, 
Publius Decius Mus, saw his legions broken and fleeing before the 
enemy. Whereupon he called to himself the priest and charged him 
to utter the solemn formula whereby a victim was devoted. The 
words having been uttered, he cried out that he drove before him fear 
and fright, slaughter and blood and the wrath of gods above and be- 
low, and that with the contagion of the Furies, ministers of death, he 
infected the standards and the arms of the enemy. With this curse, 
and conscious that he offered himself as a victim to ward off the peril 
from his country, he spurred forward his horse where the enemy's 
force was thickest and found death at the points of their spears. 



342 Old Roman Life 

397. A Type of a Progressive Roman: Appius Clau- 
dius. — The broadening of life, as this period draws to a 
close, is shown in one of the famous men of the time, 
Appius Claudius, the censor. It was he who built the 
first Roman road, the Appian Way, which led southward 
to Capua; the first aqueduct, likewise, was his work. 
He was also a patron of letters; to him are ascribed 
written speeches, wise maxims and the first collection of 
legal decisions. Even the study of grammar looks back 
to him. Other men followed in his footsteps. Rome, 
the head of Italy, rose from provincial manners and cus- 
toms to be a cosmopolitan city. She was at the turning 
of the ways. Soon Greek learning and manners would 
come in like a flood and the old Rome disappear forever. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What light on Roman life is thrown 
by the following : pecunia; togavirilis; devotio? 2. What is 
meant by denarius, censor, atrium, nomen? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the Greek (§§ 200, 201) 
and Roman estimate of business life. 2. In what did the Ro- 
man idea of amusement differ from the Greek (§§ 109, 128, 160, 
203, 206, 207, 209)? 3. Compare the Roman idea of the fam- 
ily with the oriental (§ 25). 4. Would a Greek have acted as 
did Decius Mus (§ 396)? State reasons for or against. 



Rome and Carthage 343 

4.— THE STRUGGLE WITH CARTHAGE FOR 
THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN 

264-200 B.C. 

398. Roman Responsibility for Italy. — Rome was now 
head of the Italian land, unifier and protector of its 
peoples. But this high position involved responsibility 
(i) for the defence of its coasts and (2) for the protection 

of its commerce. Dangers in both of these directions Threaten- 
appeared on account of the power of the African city, 'JJ^car-*" 
Carthage. The founding of Carthage and its com- '^^^ge. 
mercial activity in the western Mediterranean have 
already been mentioned (§§352, 170). North Africa as 
far as the Atlantic was under its authority, as was also 
a goodly share of Sicily. In that island Carthage had 
waged long wars with the Greeks for supremacy (§§ 170, 
176, 249, 328-331). Its ships had contested the trade of 
the Adriatic sea with the Greeks of Magna Graecia, and 
were found in every port of the west. Corsica, Sardinia 
and portions of the Spanish peninsula were its pos- 
sessions; while the trade of all Spain was in its hands. 
Such commercial influence and activity brought immense 
wealth to the city, and for centuries had given it easily 
the leading position in the west. 

399. Change in Relations of Rome and Carthage Un- 
avoidable. — As long as Rome was an inland and pro- 
vincial city, occupied with local affairs, interested in 
local trade, relations with Carthage had been friendly. 
Indeed, when Italy had been threatened by the Greeks, 
led by Pyrrhus (§§331, 377), Rome and Carthage had 
formed an alliance. But now the situation was changed. 



344 



The Struggle with Carthage 



Rome had taken into its possession the Greek cities of 
Italy and was bound to protect their interests. Thus at 
this point it came into touch with Carthage's commercial 
activity. Nor could Carthage, on its part, accept will- 
ingly a limitation of its commerce. It is indispensable 
to every such community to enlarge and strengthen its 
trade. The one region remaining in the west which 
could thus be exploited was Italy. Accordingly, it is 
not strange that Carthaginian pressure upon the Italian 
peninsula grew greater just at the moment when Rome's 
duty of protecting Italy became clear to her statesmen. 
In these circumstances a conflict of interests leading to 
open war was unavoidable. 

400. Sicily the Scene of the First Breach. — The oc- 
casion that opened the breach was insignificant. Its 
scene was the contested ground of Sicily. There, after 
the death of Agathocles of Syracuse (§ 330), a band of 
his mercenaries, calling themselves Mamertines ("Sons of 
Mars"), had seized Mes-sa'na, the Sicilian town nearest 
Italy, and for the following twenty-five years were the 
scourge of the northeastern part of the island. While 
waging war against them a Syracusan officer named 
Hi'e-ron obtained such prominence that in 269 B.C. he 
overturned the republican government with the aid of 
his army and made himself in that year tyrant of Syra- 
cuse and five years later, after a great victory over the 
Mamertines, king of Sicily. Unable to hold out against 
him, the Mamertines appealed to Rome. While the ap- 
peal was being considered, a faction also asked help of 
Carthage and the Carthaginians seized the town. The 
Roman senate hesitated to become embroiled in a war 
outside Italy, but the comitia centuriata in which prior 



Resources of Rome and Carthage 345 

to ca. 241 B.C. the commercial interests had large influence 
finally decided to help the Mamertines and despatched 
a force which expelled the Carthaginian garrison. Thus 
war with Carthage was declared (264 B.C.). 

401. The First Punic War, 264-241 B.C. — This war, 
called the First Punic* War, lasted for nearly a quarter 
of a century. 

402. Rome and Carthage Contrasted. — It was not 
unlike the great struggle between Athens and Sparta in 
that Carthage avoided meeting the much superior land 
army of Rome and Rome at first conceded to Carthage 
control of the sea. Rome had under it a population of Population 
about five million, Carthage, with a city population of ^"utar 
about half a million, had in its empire about five million Resources, 
people also; but whereas Rome could put for years at a 
stretch one hundred thousand men in the field, Carthage 

was mainly dependent upon mercenaries and seldom was 
able to employ more than thirty thousand of them. The 
main asset of Carthage was its wealth. Its revenues were 
far greater than those of Rome, which was weak finan- 
cially; but the first consideration in Carthage was the 
fleet in which it had on occasion as many as three hun- 
dred and fifty vessels, most of them the huge top-heavy 
quin'que-remes which became the normal battle-ships in 
the -third century B.C. (§ 318). To maintain such a fleet, 
however, strained to the limit even the enormous resources 
of Carthage. 

403. Dependencies and Allies of Rome and Carthage. 
— Carthage had no hope from the start of evening up 
conditions on land with Rome, since it could not de- 

* "Punic" is a form of "Phoenician." Carthage was a Phoenician 
or Punic colony. 



346 



The Struggle with Carthage 



pend upon the loyalty of the native population of Libya, 
or of its other dependencies, which it exploited ruthlessly 
for its own profit, and which were a source rather of 
military weakness than of strength to their masters; nor 
could it use its own urban population for foreign war- 
fare because in the first place the masses were of little 
service and in the second place they would fight only for 
their own protection. Rome, on the other hand, con- 
trolled, along the eastern and southern coast of Italy and 
in Sicily, many Greek cities which it treated with singular 
generosity and which had fought Carthage to a standstill 
on the sea for generations before they had entered into 
the Italian federation. The government of both coun- 
tries was in the hands of an intelligent aristocracy, the 
one of merchants, the other of landed proprietors. That 
of Carthage stood at the head of a peaceful people ab- 
sorbed in commercial and industrial occupations; that 
of Rome at the head of a warlike peasantry flushed with 
victory after victory in Italy, keen for fresh booty, and 
stoutly loyal and devoted to its leaders. The incom- 
petence of these for the conduct of systematic campaigns 
and dangerous naval operations was the signal weakness 
of Rome; for Carthage had long since reached the point 
of giving charge of its armies and fleets to approved 
officers and keeping them in command for year after 
year in succession, whereas Rome entrusted its armies 
to amateur generals and changed them annually. This 
was the main reason for the length of the struggle. 

404. The Roman Fleet: Mylae. — The first advantage 
was gained by Rome when it got its army safely over to 
Sicily and with it forced Hieron of Syracuse to enter its 
alliance. All that seemed now necessary was to take 



Roman 
Fleet. 



The First Punic War 347 

the fortified cities into which the Carthaginians withdrew, 
and, indeed, after a long and difficult siege, the chief place 
held by them in Greek Sicily, Ag-ri-gen'tum, was captured 
in 261 B.C. It was practically starved into submission. 
This could not be done in the case of the Phoenician towns 
on the coast, Pa-nor'mus, Lil-y-bae'um and Drep'a-na. 
Hence Rome decided to use its naval resources and gain 
possession of the sea. A fleet of one hundred quinque- The First 
remes and twenty triremes was, accordingly, despatched 
to Sicilian waters in 260 B.C. under the command of the 
consul Gaius Duilius. It was contributed, manned and 
financed mainly by Greeks, but on each ship sailed a 
body of Roman soldiers. The plan was to drop a newly 
invented "boarding bridge" with spikes at the end on the 
deck of the Cathaginian ship whenever two vessels came 
to close action, and thus to turn the sea fight into a land 
engagement. The plan succeeded admirably and on the 
high sea off Mylae Duilius gained the first naval victory 
for the Romans and captured sixty of the enemy's ships. 
This was the opening of a long duel for the mastery of 
the western Mediterranean, and it was fought out at the 
same time that the other African power, Egypt, was en- 
gaged in a similar duel with Macedon for the possession 
of the eastern Mediterranean (§318). 

405. Regulus in Africa. — Despite Mylse Rome made 
no progress with its operations against Panormus, Lily- 
baeum and Drepana. Hence in 256 B.C. the senate decided 
to carry the war into Africa, which the invasion of Agath- 
ocles fifty-four years earlier had shown to be the weak 
place in the Carthaginian armor. First, however, the 
Punic fleet, three hundred and fifty ships strong, which 
put itself in the way of the Roman-Greek navy with the 



348 



The Struggle with Carthage 



army of invasion on board, had to be dealt with: The 
great sea fight took place at Ec'no-mus, the contestants 
being about equal in strength. Victory rested with the 
Romans, and the landing in Africa was made success- 
fully. At this point one of the consuls returned with the 
fleet to Italy, the other Regulus remained with fifteen 
thousand men to conduct the war in Africa. In 256 B.C. 
he defeated the Carthaginians and seized Tunis almost 
in sight of the huge city, but in the next year he and his 
army were overwhelmed; and while taking the remnants 
back home the Roman fleet was destroyed by a storm. 

406. Both Parties Exhausted. — The struggle was again 
centred round the Phoenician forts in Sicily, and in 253 
B.C. the Romans gained a great success in the capture 
of Panormus, but on the return to Italy a second Ro- 
man fleet was destroyed by storm. The trouble with 
the great lofty quinqueremes was that they tended to turn 
turtle in a rough sea. The ignorant Roman admirals, 
moreover, took unnecessary risks. Upon the other two 
places, Lilybaeum and Drepana, the Romans made little 
impression; and when in 249 B.C. P. Claudius lost one 
Roman fleet in action off Drepana, and when in 248 
B.C. L. Junius lost another in action off Cam-a-ri'na, the 
war came to a standstill. Both contestants were ex- 
hausted; and for seven years the only interest the struggle 
possessed was in the brilliant guerilla warfare conducted 
by Ha-mil'car, surnamed Barca (''the lightning"), in 
Sicily. Finally the Romans roused themselves to new 
action; the funds for a new navy were provided, as 
usual, by advances of money made to the government by 
its patriotic citizens. This fleet the consul Cat'u-lus led 
to victory at the ^Egatian islands in 241 B.C., whereupon 



The Twenty Years' Interval 349 

Carthage was compelled to ask for peace. It was 
granted on these terms: Carthage retired from Sicily 
and the islands between Sicily and Italy; she promised 
also to pay during a period of ten years three thousand 
two hundred talents (241 B.C.). 

407. The Mercenary War, 241-237 B.C. — But the 
strength of the Punic city was by no means exhausted; 
the conflict was sure to break out again when time and 
resources were favorable to its renewal. It was, indeed, 
deferred for the moment by the horrible ''truceless" war 
(241-237 B.C.) between Carthage and its mercenaries — 
whose pay was greatly in arrears — in which only the gen- 
ius of Hamilcar Barca saved his country frohi destruc- 
tion. But it was made inevitable in that at the crisis of 
this struggle Carthage had to suffer a further humilia- 
tion in the seizure of Sardinia by the Romans and an 
additional payment of one thousand two hundred talents 

(238 B.C.). A remonstrance was met by a threat of war Seizure of 
which helpless Carthage bought off only by the cession ^^^ '"'^ 
of Sardinia and Corsica. The two islands together Corsica, 
formed the second Roman province. Rome, also, had 
other difficulties on hand which occupied its attention. 

408. The Gallic Wars.— The Gauls in the north of 
Italy were causing trouble, and when the tribune Fla- 
min'i-us carried a law to assign to citizens the public 
lands along the coast of Umbria the Gallic tribes already 
irritated rose in revolt. The struggle could have but 
one result; the Gauls were crushed and the Latin colo- 
nies of Placentia and Cremona were placed in the con- 
quered territory. A road from Rome to A-rim'i-num, 
called the Via Flaminia after its builder, Flaminius, 
brought this restless district within striking distance of the 



350 



The Struggle with Carthage 



Illyrian 
Wars. 



Hamilcar 
and 

Hasdrubal 
in Spain. 



Hannibal. 



capital. The land between the Alps and the Apennines 
was called Cisalpine Gaul. The annoyance caused by 
Illyrian pirates to Roman commerce in the Adriatic 
brought on Illyrian wars (229 and 219 B.C.), in which due 
punishment was inflicted on the aggressors, friendly re- 
lations established with the Greek states and the Adriatic 
made an Italian sea. 

409. The Punic Power in Spain. — The occasion for 
the second struggle with Carthage appeared in an unex- 
pected quarter. One of the most skilful Punic generals, 
Hamilcar Barca, animated by an inextinguishable hatred 
for Rome, retired to Spain after the '^ruceless" war and 
there spent nine years in building up a Carthaginian 
power which might furnish men and money to renew 
the war with Rome. After his death, first his son-in-law 
Has'dru-bal (228-221 B.C.) and later his son Hannibal, 
with splendid vigor and success, carried on his work. The 
wild tribes south of the river Ebro were tamed, united and 
organized into an effective force. Money and munitions 
of war were collected and a plan of campaign, bold be- 
yond all expectation, was devised. The first step pre- 
cipitated war. Sa-gun'tum, a petty fort in alliance with 
Declaration Rome, was attacked and captured by Hannibal. His 
surrender was at once demanded and as promptly re- 
fused, whereupon a Roman ambassador in the pictu- 
resque fashion of the Roman declaration of war "gathered 
his toga in two folds — 'War or peace,' he cried; 'which 
will you have ? ' ' Which you will, ' was the answer. He 
shook out the fold of war, and war was accepted by 
Carthage with a light heart." Then with an army of 
fifty thousand infantry and nine thousand cavalry, sup- 
ported by fighting elephants, Hannibal marched north- 



Hannibal iii Italy 



351 



ward with Ho less audacious a design than the crossing 
of the Alps and the descent into northern Italy. After 
almost incredible hardships, through fightings with wild 
tribes and the fierceness of winter storms among the high 
Alps, the army, reduced to less than half its number, 
stood exhausted, but triumphant, on the plains of Cisal- 
pine Gaul. 

410. Hannibal in Italy. — And now began a duel to 
the death, the Second Punic War (218 B.C.).* The fate 
of Rome hung on 
the loyalty of the 
allied cities of 
Italy. The newly 
conquered Gauls 
soon rose and 
flocked to Hanni- 
bal. The Roman 
army under the 
consuls was routed 
at battles on the 
banks of the rivers 
Ti-ci'nus and the Treb''i-a. The next year (217 B.C.) 
Hannibal, advancing southward, entrapped and annihi- 
lated another Roman army at Lake Tras-i-me'nus in 
Etruria; the consul Flaminius was killed in the battle. 
Then the Romans in alarm appointed Quintus Fabius 
Maximus dictator, known in history as the ''shield of 
Rome." He would not give battle, but followed on the 
heels of Hannibal as he marched down to the southeast 
ravaging the country. New commanders, the consuls 

* It is suggested that the teacher amplify the sketch of this great war 
by the aid of graphic passages chosen from Livy and Poiybius. 



Hannibal 

Invades 

Italy. 




352 The Struggle with Carthage 

The Dis- ^milius Paulus and Terentius Varro, and' a new and 
Cannae, great army of more than eighty thousand men marched 
out against him in 216 B.C.; again the Romans were utterly 
beaten at Cannae in Apulia; one consul, Varro, and ten 
thousand men survived the slaughter. In this as in all 
the other Italian engagements of Hannibal the victory 
was gained or rendered complete by his clever use of his 
wonderful Numidian cavalry. 

411. The Italian Allies Desert.— Rome now appeared 
on the verge of destruction. The majority of the Roman 
allies in southern Italy (§ 383) passed over to Hannibal's 
side — Capua and Tarentum among the rest. In Sicily, 
Syracuse and its dependencies renounced the Roman al- 
liance. Philip V of Macedonia (§ 327) made an alliance 
with Hannibal. And, in fact, Hannibal had substantially 
accomplished his mission, which was not the annihilation 
of Rome, but the dissolution of the Italian federation and 
the reduction of its head to its historic position as one 
among the many petty states of the peninsula. Hence- 
forth, all he had to do was to maintain his position in Italy 
and prevent the Romans from re-establishing their he- 
Rome gem'o-ny. But the heroic Roman spirit remained un- 
anTthe°" shaken. An offer of peace by the victor of Cannae was 
Tide Turns, rejected. An army sent to Syracuse under the command 
of Me-tel'lus, " the sword of Rome," captured that city and 
restored Roman power in Sicily. War was declared 
against Philip. Energetic efforts were put forth to recover 
the rebellious Italian cities, while further pitched battles 
with Hannibal were avoided. The fortified posts occu- 
pied by Roman allies all over the land — the Latin colo- 
nies (§ 382) — held fast to Rome. Thus gradually the sky 
brightened, while Hannibal's task grew more difficult. 



The Metaurus 353 

He lost Capua in 211 B.C., and a dash at Rome in the same 
year failed. Tarentum was taken by the Romans in 209 
B.C. The crisis of the struggle came when Hasdrubal, 
Hannibal's brother, eluding the enemy in Spain, started 
for Italy. Already Rome was near the end of its resources. 
Twelve Latin colonies announced that they could keep up 
the struggle no longer. If the two Carthaginian armies 
could unite, their victory was sure. But in 207 B.C. the The 
army of Hasdrubal was destroyed at the river Me-tau'rus, ^®**"'^"^' 
he himself killed and his head thrown over the ram- 
parts of his brother's camp. As Hannibal looked upon 
it, he is said to have declared, "I behold the fate of 
Carthage." This battle decided that Hannibal could 
maintain his position in Italy for only a limited time. 
Soon his diminishing army was shut up in the region of 
Bruttium. Peace was made between Rome and Philip. 
412. The War in Spain. — Meanwhile, a tedious war 
had been carried on in Spain — Hannibal's sole possible 
source of reinforcements — by the brothers Publius and 
Gnaeus Scipio, who were both finally overthrown and 
killed (212 B.C.). All Spain seemed lost to the Romans Scipio 
when the son of the slain general, Publius Cornelius ^"'=^°^^'' 
Scipio, a brilliant young Roman officer, who earlier than 
anyone else saw the advantage of fighting the war out 
in Hannibal's own country, came to Spain with an army 
(211 B.C.). He did not, indeed, prevent the departure 
of Hasdrubal for Italy, but after a series of striking cam- 
paigns he was able in 206 B.C. to return to Italy leaving 
Rome master of the Carthaginian part of the Iberian 
peninsula. Two years later he advanced his project 
a step further by crossing the sea with an army to carry 
the war into Africa. 



354 



The Struggle ivith Carthage 



Hannibal 
Recalled. 

Zama. 

The 

Punish- 
ment of 
Carthage. 



Growth of 
the Senate's 
Power. 



413. "The War into Africa." — Hannibal was recalled 
to defend his country and was overthrown by Scipio at 
the battle of Zama (202 B.C.).* The war was over; 
Carthage was ruined, and nothing was left but to seek 
as favorable terms of peace as possible. They were not 
too severe; Spain and the Mediterranean islands were 
given up; the kingdom of Numidia was granted its inde- 
pendence under King Mas'si-nis'sa, whose claim to the 
throne of all Numidia Rome had espoused, and war upon 
it was forbidden; the fleet was reduced to ten triremes; 
a payment of two hundred talents yearly for fifty years 
was imposed. Thus Carthage, while not destroyed, lost 
its political and commerical supremacy and became little 
more than a dependency of Rome. 

414. The Power and Position of the Senate. — During 
this long struggle with a foreign enemy the administration 
of the Roman state underwent some changes. We have 
seen that the political strife of patrician and plebeian 
had ended in the victory of the latter and the harmoniz- 
ing of all interests in a popular government (§§ 362-366). 
But when war with Carthage came, it was found that a 
strong administration was necessary to conduct it. The 
citizens, therefore, let the senate manage affairs, since it 
was a compact body of the best men in the state and was 
always at hand in Rome on critical occasions. Thus 
the senate slowly absorbed the powers of government, 
which, in theory, belonged to the people. The magis- 
trates, although elected by the people, were guided by 
the senate and fulfilled its will. This was to mean much 
in the future, but at present it worked successfully. The 
firmness and courage with which the senate went about 

* From this victory Scipio gained the title Africanus. 



Senate and Magistrates 355 

its task of carrying on the war, supplying soldiers, en- 
couraging the people, resisting all appeals for peace until 
the work was done, is worthy of all praise. The only 
body in Rome which could give this kind of an adminis- 
tration was the senate; hence the government came more 
and more securely into its grasp. 

415. Composition of the Senate. — The strength of this 
great corporation was due largely to the influence of 

the men who composed it. On the list of its members Ex-Magis- 
the censors were in the habit of registering all ex-magis- ^■^^ senate.'" 
trates not already enrolled. Only when these did not 
suffice to fill the vacancies in the aggregate of three hun- 
dred did the censors have the liberty to nominate others. 
Senators held office for life. Only gross misbehavior 
justified the censors in leaving the names of old members 
off the list. Accordingly, outside the senate there was 
rarely anybody who had ever held an important civil 
or military office; in it were all Romans possessed of 
knowledge and experience of public affairs. 

416. The Senate and the Magistrates. — Moreover, 
while the people in Rome chose their magistrates, only 
senators were qualified to be candidates for the higher 
positions. The reason for this was that the lower offices 
— such as the tribunate, qusetorship, aedileship — had to 
be held first, and on holding them men generally became 
senators. Hence, what the people did was virtually to Higher 
select from the senate annual committees of senators to chosen^'*^ 
hold the praetorships and consulships. Since men were ^^"^ ^^^ 

Senate. 

senators for their lifetime and magistrates for only a 
single year, they did not care to do anything while 
consuls or praetors to impair the power of the body 
to which they were to belong permanently. Thus 



356 Senatoidal Government 

the senate was able to retain its control of the higher 
magistrates. 

41 "7. The Senate and the Tribunate. — Should, how- 
ever, any officer ignore or defy the senate it was always 
possible for it to get a tribune to veto his actions. A 
single tribune was able to stop all public business in 
Rome — to seal up the treasury, suspend the law courts, 
reduce every magistrate to inactivity, even prevent all 
votes of the comitia. Hence the senate had an invin- 
cible guardian so long as the veto of the tribunes was 
observed and one of these ten officers was ready to take 
the senate's point of view. 

418. The Senate and the Assemblies. — The senate, 
however, was ordinarily able to control the elections and 
to prevent all but members of the senatorial families 
from getting elected to the lower offices. It was, indeed, 
a rare occurrence for a new "man" {novus homo) to rise 
to the prsetorship or consulship in Rome. This monopoly 
of office was preserved largely by the way the electoral 
divisions were formed. There were now thirty-five 
tribes and the tribes had each one vote in the comitia 
tributa and ten centuries in the comitia centuriata. Of 
the thirty-five only four were open to the urban — land- 
less and freedman — population; so that no matter how 
many of the residents of Rome flocked down to the Forum 
or out to the Campus Martius when the comitia met, they 
could cast only four votes out of thirty-five or forty out of 
three hundred and fifty. On the other hand, sixteen of 
the tribes — the so-called "rustic tribes"— lay in the terri- 
tory immediately around the city. As time passed ^thg 
land in this district tended to gather in the hands,. pj/,a 
smaller and smaller number of great landholders; .so.tha.t 



Senate and Comitia 357 

the "rustic tribes" became in a sense "pocket boroughs" 
of the senators. The other fifteen tribes lay up and down 
Italy, usually at such a distance from the capital that 
only men of means and leisure resident on them — men 
who owned town houses and tilled their estates by slaves 
— were in a position to appear regularly at the public 
meetings. The net result was that the land proprietors 
— "the country gentlemen" — who made up the sena- 
torial or office-holding nobility were able to outvote the 
masses in the comitia and distribute the ofi&ces among 
themselves as they pleased. Hence the senate could 
always count on having the support of at least one tribune. 
A tribune, however, could prevent the magistrates from 
calling the comitia together; hence to control the magis- 
trates meant ordinarily to control the assemblies. 

419. The Constitutional Weaknesses of the Senate. — 
Should, however, the masses of the countrymen of Italy 
become dissatisfied and flock to the comitia in tens of 
thousands to vote for what they wanted; that is to say, 
should the peasants of Italy want strongly something 
which the government did not care to give to them, the 
position of the senate would be in the highest degree 
perilous. But so long as it was successful in its wars in Success the 
Italy and abroad, and new land and rich booty were con- ^f ^^^ gen. 
tinuously provided for the Roman peasants; so long as 
the struggle for national honor and existence fired the 
patriotism of every Roman farmer, the senate was the 
accepted leader of the agriculturists of the peninsula, and 
the senator's sons were the men whom the citizens natu- 
rally chose to be their officers in the army and in the state. 

420. The Senate's Method of Transacting Business. — 
The senate was usually convoked by the consuls. The 



ate. 



358 Senatorial Goveriiment 

summons indicated the place and day of the meeting: 
the time was daybreak, the place a templum, or sacred 
enclosure, usually the curia Hostilia in the Forum. The 
summons did not disclose the subject upon which the 
senators were to tender advice to the magistrates — for it 
was solely to advise that the senate existed, not to com- 
mand or legislate. Accordingly, there was no opportu- 
nity for previous study or manipulation. It was the duty 
of the presiding oflficer to put the senate into possession 
of the facts. This he did in laying each matter before 
the chamber. The senate did not work with the aid of 
committees, except in so far as each pair of magistrates 
was its committee; hence no opportunity whatever was 
given for the mature consideration of public business 
outside the walls of the senate chamber. The deliber- 
ate purpose was that the decisions should be reached in 
the senate itself. That outside pressure might not dis- 
turb the equanimity of the senators, all debates were 
held behind closed doors. On either side of the central 
aisle, at the farther end of which the magistrates took their 
places in their robes of 'offi.ce on their ivory curule chairs, 
sat the three hundred senators clad in their white togas 
slashed with broad purple stripes. At one epoch the 
tribunes had taken their places at the door of the chamber 
and thence heard what they could of the discussion; now 
they had drawn their long bench into the room and sat 
in the aisle with the magistrates. At the door crowded 
the sons of the senators — the young men destined for a 
public life who had not as yet reached the age of office- 
holding. Others were kept beyond hearing by the lictors. 
The senators gave their opinions seated ; men rose only 
when they voted. The speeches were short and pithy — 



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Transaction of Bu.si7iess 359 

the blunt opinions of farmers — and each ended with a Discussion 
motion upon the question at issue. It might simply ^"g 
be an endorsement of an opinion already given. In fact, 
the only senator who could not escape the onus of giving 
a formal opinion (sententia) was the princeps senatus — 
the oldest ex-censor ordinarily, the man whom the cen- 
sors on drawing up the list of the senators had put at 
its head. The others were arranged behind him in ac- 
cordance with the offices they had held — ex-consuls and 
ex-praetors having precedence over ex-ccdiles. Within 
each group the place of the individual was decided by 
seniority. While each senator in turn was expressing 
his opinion, the voting was in progress. By leaving their Voting in 
places and taking their seats in the vicinity of the man 
with whose opinion they agreed, the senators kept show- 
ing to the presiding officer how they were voting; so that 
at the end of the process he had to select the opinion he 
pleased and put it to the whole for a final vote only 
when more than two popular views had been expressed. 
The possibility existed for prolonging the discussion in- 
definitely; for not only was the method of eliciting the' 
will of the senate cumbrous, but the senator when called 
upon could speak for any length of time he pleased upon 
any subject he pleased. That, none the less, the enor- 
rrious amount of public business which arose in Rome, 
Italy and finally in the entire Mediterranean world, was 
transacted quickly and wisely is the highest tribute that 
can be paid to the wonderful political sense of the Roman 
senators. 

421. The Business of the Senate. — The senate could 
not meet of its own accord, but was dependent upon 
the magistrates for its corporate existence. It had no 



360 



Senatorial Government 



legal power to enforce its decrees, and no judicial process 
could compel any magistrate to follow the advice it gave. 
It had no judicial authority of any kind except in cases 
of crisis or emergency. It had no legislative power; and 
by the Hortensian law of 287 B.C. it had lost all right to 
regulate or modify the votes of the comitia. None the 
less, it was the real government of Rome. The business of 
a state commonly falls into three groups. There are first 
the regular foreseen tasks which in Rome the magistrates 
performed: the care of the streets and public buildings 
(gediles), the handling of the public funds (queestors), the 
settling of disputes (praetors), the handling of the troops 
and convoking the senate and assembly (consuls), the 
taking of the census and the imposition of the taxes (cen- 
sors). With these the senate had no concern. There are 
in the second place the extraordinary and unforeseen 
measures affecting the mode of life of the entire people, 
which in Rome required the action of the comitia: the 
enactment of a new law, the creation of a new magistracy, 
the declaration of war, the conclusion of a peace or treaty, 
the foundation of a colony on the public land, the punish- 
ment of a criminal or traitor. Such matters lay beyond 
the competency of the senate. In the third place there 
is the great body of extraordinary but foreseen cases 
where an important decision has to be reached. It 
might be something unusual in the work of a magistrate, 
such as the need for levying troops or imposing a war tax; 
it might be the demand of the people for a new law or a 
new colony, or a war or a peace; it might be the arrival 
of an embassy from a foreign state; it might be a strange 
omen. For the formulation of a policy on such matters 
the senate was the only proper authority in Rome. Its 



Popular Assembly 361 

province was, in other words, that of the cabinet in the 
modern parliamentary system. 

422. The Roman Assemblies. — The comitia was sim- 
ply an arrangement of the citizens for convenience of 
voting. When the comitia was called all discussion 
ceased. Debate could take place only at unorganized 
meetings {contiones) summoned by the magistrates for 
that purpose. Only those whom the presiding officers per- 
mitted could address the multitude. When the comitia 
met, it could consider only a programme of business 
published three weeks in advance by the convening mag- 
istrate. Each citizen then went into the compartment Voting 
assigned to his tribe or century, and on passing out across comitia. 
a bridge told his vote to clerks who recorded it on wax 
tablets with which they were provided. When all had 
passed out the votes were counted and the vote of the 
tribe or century declared by the presiding officer. The 
majority of tribes or centuries determined the issue of the 
vote. As already explained, this system of group voting 
permitted the urban population to be ''hived" in four- 
thirty-fifths of the electoral districts; so that the ill- 
effects of the change which finally occured in the charac- 
ter of the inhabitants of the city of Rome were for a long 
time obviated. Still, it was a matter of grave concern to 
the government that as Rome became the capital of Italy 
and subsequently of the entire Mediterranean world, it 
ceased to be essentially an aggregate of small and large 
farmers and came to resemble more and more closely the 
great cities of the present day. Probably nothing contrib- Fear of the 
uted more to the long supremacy of the senate than the ^''^* 
fear of all reflecting men that the proletariat of Rome 
should really exercise sovereign power. 



362 Senatorial Government 

423. The Financial Problem. — The senate's solution 
of two problems is noteworthy. To procure money and 
supplies for carrying on the war it adopted a curious 

The plan. Instead of organizing a financial system of its own, 

it sought the aid of wealthy capitalists and merchants 
and gave the task into their hands. They supplied the 
money, the ships, the food, the equipment. The state 
was thus relieved from a great burden of business; but 
this relief was dearly bought by bringing the state into 
bondage to these men of wealth. As their operations 
widened, the dependence of the administration upon 
them increased. They began to have an undue influence 
in shaping its policy. They made the state serve their 
interests.* But they could not themselves become sena- 
tors; for a law had been passed in 218 B.C. prohibiting 
"members of the governing class from taking part in 
foreign trade, as carriers, as manufacturers, or as partici- 
pants in the great business of the contract for corn which 
placed provincial grain on the Roman market." Hence 
those who engaged in foreign commerce and bid for 
government contracts became the nucleus of a new class 
— the influential equestrian order. 

424. The Problem of Conquered Territories. — The 
other problem was the relation of the newly won terri- 
tories outside of Italy to the Roman state. We have 
seen that, in bringing Italy under Roman rule, either 
the peoples had been made Roman citizens or their rela- 
tions had been determined by a perpetual treaty (§§ 382- 
384). But when, at the close of the first Punic war, 
Sicily and Sardinia became Roman, neither of these 

* Such men were called publicani, "contractors," whence our word 
"publican." They formed a large part of the equestrian order (§439). 



The Provinces 363 

methods was adopted, but a praetor (§ 353) was placed in 
charge of them. This kind of authority, that of a mili- The 
tary magistrate dealing with conquered peoples, was 
called provincia, a name which was also given to the terri- 
tory thus governed. The praetor maintained order and 
rendered justice in the province; his authority was sus- 
tained by a body of Roman soldiers. By this means no 
new magistrates were appointed nor any new authority 
created by the Roman administration. The plan worked 
well enough for a temporary expedient, but the dangers 
of giving the unlimited authority of a military magistrate 
to the governor of conquered territories soon became clear 
as Rome's conquests extended. Of these we shall hear 
in the coming years. 

425. Rome Ruler of the West. — The year 200 B.C. 
saw Rome the ruler of the western Mediterranean. The 
regions that had been dominated by Carthage — North 
Africa, Spain, Sicily, and the other islands — passed un- 
der Roman sway. The city, which had successfully 
united Italy and held it firm against the terrific assaults 
of Hannibal, had now a larger task, the ruling of the 
west. Its imperial destiny was becoming clearer. The New 
questions which now pressed for solution were such as 
these: Was Rome's dominion to be limited to the west? 
Could Rome succeed in uniting and governing its em- 
pire, as it had succeeded with Italy? In these new 
imperial tasks was Rome itself to remain unchanged? 
These questions were soon to have their answer. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following noted: 
Agathocles, Regulus, Fabius Maximus, Philip V, Zama, Me- 
taurus? 2. Name in order the battles of the second Punic war, 
3, What is meant by pras tor, quaestor, censor, provincia, Punic, 



Province. 



Problems 



364 The Struggle with Carthage 

Latin colony, allied state? 4. What was the duration of this 
period (dates) and how much of it was taken up with the wars 
with Carthage? 5. What was the character of the senate 
during the period of the Carthaginian wars? 6. Explain the 
position of a tribune in the senate at this time. 7. What was 
the tribal arrangement? 8. In what state matters had the 
senate control? Give in detail the method of transacting 
business in the senate. 9. Describe the system of voting in 
use in the Roman assemblies. 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the Roman province 
with the provinces of Egypt (§42), Assyria (§§65, 70), Persia 
(§8i)and Alexander the Great (§299). 2. Compare Hannibal's 
invasion of Italy with the Persian invasion of Greece (§§ 165, 
169-175). 3. "Success is in no way necessary to greatness." 
Does Hannibal's career justify this assertion? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Rome and Carthage Con- 
trasted, (o) Rome's Organization, Army and Navy. How 
and Leigh, pp. 131-143. (b) The Organization and Resources 
of Carthage. How and Leigh, pp. 143-149. 2. The First Punic 
War. How and Leigh, pp. 149-162. 3. The Second Punic War. 
How and Leigh, chs. 21, 22. 4. The Battle of Cannae. How and 
Leigh, pp. 194-19S. 5. Hannibal's Character. How and Leigh, 
pp. 171-172. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Cartha- 
ginian Empire. Shuckburgh, pp. 223-232; Myres, pp. 149-152; 
Horton, pp. 60-63. 2. The First Punic War. Shuckburgh, chs. 
18, 19. 3. The Second Punic War. Shuckburgh, chs. 22-25; 
Myres, chs. 16-18. 4. The Story of Regulus. Seignobos, pp. 
92-93. 5. Hannibal's March to Italy. Laing, pp. 362-373 
(source); Munro, pp. 85-86 (source); Horton, pp. 7S-81. 6. The 
Battle of Cannae. Laing, pp. 372-380 (source); Moray, pp. 117, 
118; Shuckburgh, pp. 323-328. 7. Fabius Maximus. Plutarch's 
Life of Fabius. 8. Hannibal as a Man. Laing, pp. 360-362 
(source); Seignobos, p. 99. 9. Hannibal as a General: His 
Strategy {a) at Trebia, (6) at Ticinus, (c) at Trasimene, {d) at 
Cannae — see the histories as referred to above. 10. The Roman 
Provincial System. Abbott, pp. 88-91; Horton, ch. 14; Morey, 
pp. 146-148, 



Wars with Macedonia 365 



5.— ROME'S CONQUEST OF THE EAST 

200 133 B.C. 

426. Preliminary Survey. — The year 200 B.C. marks preliminary 
the moment when the separate stream of Roman history ^""^^^y- 
merges into the main current of the larger history of the 

world of the east. How rich and splendid in its culture 
that Greek world had become, how active and absorbed 
it was in its imperial enterprises and how fatally it was 
weakened through its division into three great monar- 
chies, has already been described (§§ 307-309, 318, 322, 
327), Rome's progress, at first only indirectly connected The 
with the eastern world, had steadily moved in the direction xtng^doms. 
of closer relations (§ 327). Hardly had the conflict with 
Carthage been won, when a war broke out with Mace- 
donia. Thus Rome was involved directly with the poli- Rome 
tics of the east and could not call a halt until the king- Lord^r 
doms of Macedonia, Syria and Egypt, with the lesser ^^^ East, 
powers of Greece and Asia Minor, became either subjects 
or allies of Rome. Thus was created an empire around 
the Mediterranean sea, from the Atlantic to the Eu- 
phrates river. This splendid conquering career with its 
effects on Roman life we are now to follow in detail. 

427. Wars of Rome with Macedonia, 215-205 B.C. — 

The war with Philip V of Macedonia that followed his al- Overthrow 
liance with Hannibal (§§ 327, 411) was brought to an end y. "^ 
in 205 B.C. by a treaty of peace that was hardly more than 
a temporary truce. Philip, however, was the first to vio- 
late it by attacking Roman allies in Greece and the east; 
the Romans were not slow to respond by a declaration of 
war (200 B.C.). The chief powers of Greece, the iEtolian 



366 



Conquest of the East 



and Achaean leagues (§§ 320-322), Joined with them. 
After two ineffectual years, Titus Quinctius Flam-i-ni'nus 
led the Roman legions to victory at the battle of Cy'nos- 
ceph'a-lae (197 B.C.), in Thessaly, where against the Ro- 
man maniples the Macedonian phalanx as a fighting 
machine was found wanting. Philip obtained peace at 
the price of becoming a dependent ally of Rome, losing 
all territory outside of Macedonia and paying one thou- 
sand talents. As for Greece itself, the Romans declared 
its several states to be, henceforth, independent of the 
authority which Macedon had tried to impose on Greece 
since the battle of Chseroneia (§ 277). All Greece was 
free once more to work out its own salvation. Rome had 
no desire to interfere with its affairs and would see to it 
that no other power did so. 

428. War with Antiochus, 192-188 B.C.— Antiochus 
III, king of Syria, however, viewed with increasing dis- 
favor the appearance of Rome in the east. Roman in- 
fluence opposed him in Egypt and on the coasts of Asia 
Minor. To him Hannibal fled a few years after the fall 
of Carthage and kept his anger hot. Now, upon the over- 
throw of Macedonia, a suitable time seemed to him to have 
come to assert his supremacy over Greece. On the invi- 
tation of the ^tolian league he entered Greece (192 B.C.). 
But in the next year he was defeated in the historic pass 
of Thermopylae and driven out of Greece. The follow- 
ing year (190 B.C.) the Roman army under Lucius Cor- 
nelius Scipio,* the consul, who was aided by his brother, 
the victor of Zama, crossed into Asia Minor and over- 
threw the army of Antiochus at Magnesia. The proud 
king made a humiliating peace, resigned his possessions in 

* Because of this victory he got the title Asiaticus. 



Fall of Macedon 3G7 

Europe and Asia Minor and paid an indemnity of twelve 
thousand talents to the Romans. He further agreed to 
keep no war elephants and to add no warships to the ten 
which he was permitted to retain. The treaty called for 
the surrender of Hannibal, but the great general escaped, 
only to flee from place to place until, in 183 B.C., he ended 
his own life by poison. The territories taken from An- 
tiochus were handed over to loyal allies; Eumenes, king 
of Pergamon (§ 326), received a large share, and his king- 
dom became, along with Rhodes, a bulwark of Roman 
influence in the east. The Seleucid empire never recov- 
ered from this blow which proved to the subject peoples 
in Asia that their Greek masters were not invincible. A 
long series of revolts and dynastic struggles followed 
which left only a weakened fragment of the once great 
empire when it fell into the hands of the Romans. 

429. The Third Macedonian War, 1 71-167 B.C. — Eigh- 
teen years passed quietly when, in 171 B.C., war broke out 
a third time with Macedonia. Philip had been followed 
by his son Perseus, who succeeded in gaining a number of 
Greek states to unite with him in resisting Rome. They 
felt that freedom under Roman patronage was not real 
freedom. Perseus offered a long and vigorous resistance; Pydna. 
but in 168 B.C. he was defeated by Lucius ^Emilius Paulus 
at Pydna, where again the Macedonian phalanx was shat- 
tered. The king fled with his treasure, but was captured; 
an immense booty was brought to Rome, where Paulus 
enjoyed the most splendid "triumph" (§385) that the 
city had ever seen. The state treasury was filled so full 
that the regular tax upon the citizens was remitted and 
was not again imposed. Macedonia was divided into 
four separate independent districts allied to Rome; the 



S68 



Conquest of the East 



Settlement 
of Mace- 
donia and 
Greece. 



Revolt of 
Seleucid 
Dependen- 
cies. 



free states of Greece were severely dealt with. The re- 
bellious leagues of ^tolia and Boeotia were dissolved. 
The Achaean league, which had stood loyal, had to send 
one thousand of its leading citizens to Rome, where 
they were unjustly detained in practical exile for many 
years. Among them was Po-lyb'i-us, who afterward wrote 
a history of the Roman conquest of the world. Even the 
loyal allies of Rome in the east, Pergamon and Rhodes, 
were treated harshly. 

430. The Maccabsean Uprising in Judea. — The next 
twenty years (168-149 B.C.) show Rome at a standstill 
in eastern affairs. All the eastern powers hung upon the 
word of the senate, and their ambassadors thronged the 
senate-house. During these years, as we have seen (§§ 
319, 428), the Jews burst out in rebellion against Antio- 
chus IV of Syria because he had violated the sanctity of 
their temple and trampled upon their sacred law. Led 
by the valiant family called the Maccabees, they heroically 
and successfully fought off the Syrian armies and sought 
the aid of Rome, which made a treaty with them, but gave 
no actual help. At last they secured their independence 
in 143 B. c, under Simon Mac-ca-bas'us, and set up a king- 
dom ruled by members of his family. The greater and 
lesser powers of the east were falling into decay. The 
Greek states intrigued and squabbled. The kingdoms 
of Syria and Egypt were rent by internal quarrels. 
Rome stood grimly by and waited, vexed by the continual 
appeals for her aid, yet unready to take active steps for 
interference. 

431. The Roman Attitude toward the Eastern Powers. 
— Thus far Rome had been drawn on into the affairs 
of the east with hesitation and uncertainty. The troubles 



Prestige of the Romans 3G9 

with Macedonia and Syria had not been of her making; 
she had avoided responsibility wherever possible; the 
conquered lands had not been absorbed, but left as 
dependents or allies. Moreover, the weaker powers 
were constantly seeking her aid or protection against 
their more powerful and aggressive neighbors. In this 
Greek world of unending strife and discord, of intrigue 
and political corruption, the blunt, practical, sober Ro- 
man was welcomed as a friend and deliverer by all who 
looked for protection against the greater powers by whom 
they were surrounded. How the Romans were looked Attitude of 
upon by some of the lesser peoples of the east is strikingly j^^^^^' 
shown by a passage from one of the Jewish books of the Rome, 
time. When the Jews were making their desperate fight 
for independence they looked about for helpers. The 
first Book of Maccabees says: 

And Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they are valiant 
men, and have pleasure in all that join themselves unto them, with 
their friends and such as relied upon them they kept amity; and 
they conquered the kingdoms that were nigh and those that were 
far off, and all that heard of their fame were afraid of them; more- 
over, whomsoever they will to succor and to make kings, these do 
they make kings; and whomsoever they will, do they depose; and 
they are exalted exceedingly: and for all this none of them ever did 
put on a diadem, neither did they clothe themselves with purple, to 
be magnified thereby: and how they had made for themselves a 
senate-house, and day by day three hundred and twenty men sat 
in council, consulting alway for the people, to the end that they might 
be well ordered; and how they commit their government to one man 
year by year, that he should rule over them, and be lord over all their 
country, and all are 'obedient to that one, and there is neither envy 
nor emulation among them. — i Maccabees, viii, i, 12-16. 

432. Rome Slowly Changes Its Attitude for the Worse. 

— As time went on, however, the temper of the Ro- 



370 Conquest of the East 

mans slowly changed. They could not understand the 
politics of the east nor the character of its peoples. 
They despised the cunning and weakness of the Greeks, 
they were constantly disturbed by the quarrels and in- 
trigues of the various states and by outbreaks against 
their own authority. The opportunities for gaining 
wealth and influence afforded by the decay of the eastern 
powers attracted them. Thus they came to interfere 
more and more directly, to make an unrighteous use of 
their superior position and power in enforcing obedience 
to their will; they became grasping and arrogant, until, 
in place of the respect and hope which they had once 
inspired, the Greeks began to fear and hate them. 

433. Overthrow of Greek Freedom, 146 B.C. — Things 
came to a head by a rebellion in the Macedonian dis- 
tricts (149 B.C.) followed by troubles with the Achaean 
league (146 B.C.). The whole country was seething with 
discontent now that the freedom accorded by Rome was 
found to be a hollow sham. The Roman senate, on the 
other hand, had lost all patience with the Greek states, 
because of their interminable bickerings. The return of 
the hostages taken from Achaea after Pydna fostered the 
discontent in that district. Thus out of a petty incident 
a pitiful war arose between the Achaeans and Rome. 
In 146 B.C. the consul Mummius captured Corinth and 
order was restored in Greece. Macedonia was made a 
province; the Achaean league was dissolved; Greece 
was placed under the authority of the governor of Mace- 
donia. In connection with the subje'ction of Greece, 
the city of Corinth was deliberately destroyed and its art 
treasures carried to Rome. Thus the last vestige of 
Greek freedom perished. 



Merchants in Politics 



371 



CARTHAGE. 

a Cisterns 

b Amphitheatre 

r Circus 

d Teitiple ofAesciilaplu: 

e Temple of CHeleste 



434. Destruction of Carthage, 149-146 B.C. — During 
these years the Roman name was stained by another act 
of oppression. The years of peace had raised Carthage 
to a high degree of prosperity which excited the jealousy 
of her old rival. 
The Roman mer- 



chants demanded 
its destruction. 
The senators took 
their point of 
view; none more 
insistently than 
M. Porcius Cato, 
who is said to 
have ended every 
speech in that 
body with the 
we 1 1 - kn own 
phrase ^^ Carth- 
ago delenda est^ 
A pretext for war 
was found in the 
fact that the 
Carthaginians in 
self-protection 
had taken up arms against territorial aggressions on the 
part of their neighbor Massinissa (§413). Technically 
this was a violation of the treaty of 201 B.C. To save 
themselves from war the Carthaginians sent three hun- 
dred of their leading citizens to Rome and even gave 
up all their arms. Then came the cruel command that 
they should abandon Carthage and settle ten miles from 




372 



Conquest of the East 



the sea. At this, uncontrollable anger led them to re- 
sist to the utmost. Two years of fierce fighting followed. 
Finally the command of the Roman army was given to 
P. Cornelius Scipio, a son of i^milius Paulus, the victor 
of Pydna, who had been adopted into the family of 
Africanus. He proved a general of capacity, and, in 
spite of its heroic resistance, he forced his way into Car- 
thage, destroyed the city, and enslaved the surviving in- 
habitants. Out of the conquered territory was formed 
the province of Africa (149-146 B.C.). In Spain the 
wanton injustice and aggression of Roman governors 
kept the land continually in uproar. Fierce wars were 
waged with the various tribes. An heroic defender of 
Spanish freedom arose in Vi-ri-a'thus, who for nine years 
(149-140 B.C.) not only kept the Romans at bay, but 
defeated their generals, and was finally disposed of by 
assassination. Roman territory in Spain was not secure 
till 133 B.C. when Scipio i^milianus took and destroyed 
Numantia. The same year (133 B.C.) the king of Per- 
gamon, the faithful ally of Rome in the east, died, be- 
queathing his state to the Roman people. Out of it 
was made the province of Asia. 

435. The Provinces and Their Government. — Thus, 
by 133 B.C. Rome ruled seven provinces, Sicily, Sardinia 
(including Corsica), Spain (divided into two), Macedonia, 
Africa and Asia. Strong colonies dominated Cisalpine 
Gaul, though it had not yet received a provincial organ- 
ization. The rapid growth of her foreign domains had 
made it impossible for Rome to alter the original tem- 
porary form of government given to them (§ 428) ; it 
now became permanent. In addition to the praetors, who 
were too few in number or were sufficiently occupied at 



Pj'ovincial Government 373 

home, the government of the province was assigned to 
officers on whom was conferred the same authority as that 
of a consul or prgetor. They were in fact consuls or 
praetors whose terms were prolonged, by vote of the senate 
and who acted in the place of * these magistrates. Hence The 
they were called proconsuls or propraetors. A kind of con- '^°'=°"^" ■ 
stitution was established for each province, determining The 
such matters as the tribute to be paid, the status of the conltitu-^ 
different communities in the province and the rights and tion. 
duties of the provincials. The province was in general 
a honeycomb of separate cities whose citizens could not 
bear arms or enter into wars, but had in their own hands 
almost the entire conduct of local administration. The 
proconsul simply supervised the cities, thus taking the 
place, in the east, of the Hellenistic monarchs (§§ 299, 
319). His rights often depended upon the fact that the 
Greek cities added the goddess Roma to their circle of 
deities (§ 300) and sometimes the proconsul himself was 
deified. His authority was wide, limited only in a vague 
general way by the terms of the provincial constitution; 
his obligations were equally extensive. He administered 
justice, preserved the peace, through a quaestor he directed 
the finances and saw to the tribute; he was responsible for 
the prosperity and progress of his province. The collec- 
tion' of the taxes was, according to the accepted Roman 
system (§ 423), taken over by contractors, the puhlicani, 
who assumed the responsibility of paying to the state the 
amount it required, and made a profit out of what they 
could squeeze from the unhappy provincials over and 
above the legal tribute. This " farming out " of the taxes 
was thus capable of serious abuse. The success of such 

* The Latin word for "in the place of" is pro. 



374 



Conquest of the East 



Weakness 
of the 
System. 



a system depended upon the character of the governor, 
since, left practically alone with powers so large, he could 
carry out his own will without interference. Appointed 
for but one year, all that he could accomplish for good or 
ill must be done in this brief time. It was not strange, 
therefore, that some of them yielded to temptations to be 
unjust, selfish and cruel. In 149 B.C. it became necessary 
to establish a court at home where such injustice could 
be brought to trial. But, as the accused could not be 
tried till his term of office was over, and as the court was 
made up of senators who either had been or might become 
governors of provinces, the remedy was of little avail. 



REVIEW EXERCISES, i. Significance of the events connected 
with Cynoscephalae, Pydna, Magnesia. 2. For what are the 
following famous: Viriathus, Simon Maccabaeus, Polybius? 
3. What is meant by proconsul, Achaean league, phalanx, 
kingdom of Syria, empire of Alexander? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare Rome's advance into 
the east with Alexander's (§§ 282, 290, 292, 299). 2. How far was 
the Jewish praise of the Romans (§ 431) justified in the past 
history of the Romans? 3. Compare the Greek phalanx and 
the Roman legion. 4. " I count it glory not to possess wealth 
but to rule those who do." Show how this reveals the strength 
and the weakness of the Roman character. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The East about 200 b.c. How 
and Leigh, pp. 253-260. 2. The First and Second Macedonian 
Wars. HowandLeigh, pp. 261-265. 3. The Third Macedonian 
War. How and Leigh, pp. 275-280. 4. Scipio Africanus. 
How and Leigh, pp. 215-216, 273. (a) His character; (6) His 
Politics, How and Leigh, pp. 300-305. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The East 
about 200 B.C. Morey, pp. 125-127; Shuckburgh, ch. 27. 2. 
The First and Second Macedonian Wars. Plutarch, Life of 
Flaminius; Botsford, pp. 116-118; Myres, ch. 20; Shuckburgh, 
ch. 28. 3. The War with Antiochus. Myres, ch. 21. 4. The 



Roman Occupations 375 

Third Macedonian War. Myres, ch. 22; Horton, pp. 145-158; 
Shuckburgh, ch. 31; Seignobos, pp. 126-130. 5. The Life of 
Scipio Africanus (see Index to Shuckburgh, under his name). 6. 
Change in Roman Policy toward the East, Seignobos, pp. 130- 
131; Morey, p. 134. 7. The End of Greek Freedom. Myres 
pp. 285-289; 8. The Fall of Carthage. Myres, pp. 289-297; 
Botsford, pp. 123-126; Seignobos, pp. 131-135; Horton, pp. 165-168. 
9. Summary of the Period before the Gracchi. Heitland, 
Roman Republic, vol. II, pp. 253-255. 



6.— THE DECLINE OF THE ROMAN 
REPUBLIC 

133-44 (27) B.C. 

436. Changes in Rome's Inner Life. — -This extension 
in Rome's foreign relations, by which she came to take 
the leading part in the Mediterranean world, was ac- 
companied by a remarkable series of changes in her inner 
life. The whole process resulted in the transformation 

of the state. Before proceeding to follow the next steps causes, 
in this transformation, we stop to study the internal 
changes which had so large a part in bringing it about.* 
Two things were chiefly responsible for these changes in 
Rome; one was the growth of capitalism or money-power, 
the other the incoming of Hellenistic civilization. , Work- 
ing separately or in unison, they aflfected every phase of 
Roman public and private life. 

437. Occupations. — Capitalism appeared as the out- 
come of a process which quite altered the chief occupa- 
tions of Roman citizens. In this process agriculture, 
still the prevailing Italian activity, changed its form and, 
ceasing in the case of the rich to be an occupation, be- 

* The order of the topics treated will be in the main the same as that 
in §§ 386-397, thus making comparison easier. 



376 



Decline of the Republic 



came an investment. The peasant proprietors of small 
holdings by no means disappeared, but they diminished 
rapidly in numbers. The rural free laborer gave way to 
the slave. The second Punic war had devastated wide 
regions and impoverished many farmers. The serious 
garrison duties in the new provinces and the long booty- 
less wars in Spain and along the frontiers kept tens of 
thousands of them absent from their farms for years at a 
stretch. The new provinces sent in great quantities of 
grain which the government after 123 B.C. distributed at 
a cheap rate. Italian grain raisers could not compete 
with this; a bad season brought them to ruin. Thus 
their land went into the hands of capitalists who organ- 
ized great estates, manned them with cheap slave labor 
and used them for the pasturage of vast flocks and herds, 
or turned them into vineyards and olive groves. Industry 
and manufacturing might have offered occupation for 
these farmers, but the competition of foreign workers for- 
bade. The well-developed industrial life of the east 
(§§ 19, 198, 309), which had now fallen under Roman 
influence, was far superior to anything that Italy had 
developed. Such manufacturing as existed at Rome was 
done largely by slave labor. Rome became not a pro- 
ducer of goods, but the centre where goods were ex- 
changed; the Roman merchant flourished on business 
which he had not created. His chief commodity was 
money. Banking became a favorite occupation, the 
possession and investment of capital the main element 
in Roman business life. The foundation of great fort- 
unes was laid; the Roman capitalist took his place as 
one of the powers of the time and reached out to control 
the world's affairs. 



Distinction of Classes 377 

438. Social Classes Sharpened. — This era of capital- 
ism brought with it a sharp division of social classes. 
Already the old equality and unity of Roman life had 
been threatened by the distinctions conferred by office and 
wealth (§ 379). In place of the patrician aristocracy had The 
appeared a "nobility,"* whose position was gained by ^°'"''*y- 
these means. The members of these noble families came 

to regard themselves as alone capable of filling the lead- 
ing public offices and, therefore, as having a right to them 
(§418). From them came the majority of the senators; 
the senate, therefore, represented the interests of the 
nobility. 

439. The Equites. — Not all men of wealth, however, 
belonged to the nobility. In many cases the capitalists 
were of lower birth. But their common interests drew 
them together, and their wealth was so great as to give 
them entrance to the class of equites (§ 423), where they 

soon came to have the predominance. Thus the eques- The busI- 
trian order was sharply marked off from the senatorial '^^^^^^°- 
class, as representing the wealthy business men. The 
interests of the two orders often clashed and brought 
trouble into the state. 

440. The City Population. — Beneath these two classes 
was the rest of the community. The farmers and their 
farfiilies came to the city and helped to swell a poor and 
restless population, whose chief value was that it could 
vote. Another element of this population was the freed- 
men, who absorbed more and more of the petty business 

of the capital. The slaves became very numerous. The siave. 

* A citizen who held a "curule" office thereby ennobled his family and 
won for them the right of placing wax masks representing the features of 
distinguished ancestors in the atrium and of exhibiting them at public 
funerals of members of the family. Such families were nobiles. 



378 Decline of the Republic 

Vast numbers of them were bought and sold in the course 
of the great wars. The fortune of war reduced all classes 
of conq^uered peoples, the rich and the poor, the edu- 
cated and the ignorant, the strong and the weak, under 
one common yoke; in course of time thejA were distrib- 
uted about in the various occupations according to their 
ability, and their value was thus determined. The aver- 
age price of slaves ranged from sixty to one hundred 
dollars. They were employed in the country for farm- 
ing and herding. They became indispensable in the 
private houses, in the mercantile and manufacturing ac- 
tivities of the city and as helpers in the state service. 
Their lot was hard, particularly that of the country slave, 
who was numbered with the cattle and the dogs. 

441. Ways of Living. — Wealth and power wrought a 
striking change in the living of the upper classes. The 
old simplicity gave way to luxury. The form was de- 
termined by the models of Hellenistic life, which now be- 
came the fashion. The house was enlarged by opening 
a door through the rear and adding a court, which was 
surrounded by rooms. This was the per'i-style, and it soon 
became the principal part of the dwelling, the a'tri-um 
being regarded as a kind of front parlor or state apart- 
ment. A second story was added and the sleeping-rooms 
placed in it. The interior was decorated with increasing 
splendor, elaborate frescoes adorned the walls, mosaics 
were set into the floor, ceilings were panelled and gilded. 
Many costly pieces of furniture replaced the former bare 
and simple furnishings. The sun-dial and the water- 
clock came from Greece. The bath-room was an indis- 
pensable part of the new house. Public baths, also, were 
established, and grew in number and splendor. The 



Growth of Luxury 379 

furnishings of the table assumed unusual importance. 
New kinds of food were introduced. Wider conquests Food, 
brought new delicacies, nuts and fruits; wild game was 
much used; the peacock was a special dainty; fish and 
oysters became popular. A slave who was a good cook 
was highly esteemed and was worth five thousand dollars. 
The stool or bench gave way to the couch, on which 
people reclined at dinner. Abundance of silver plate, 
costly wines, many courses, rich dresses, music and 
dancing — all these show that the abstemious, severe Ro- 
man of the early days was yielding to the new oppor- 
tunities for rich living that conquest and money put in 
his way. 

442. Amusements. — Roman amusements disclose sim- 
ilar changes. The Greek fashion of having games in Games, 
connection with religious festivals (§ 128) becam.e popu- 
lar. Greek athletes were often employed. The exhibi- 
tions of chariot-driving (§ 390) and wrestling soon over- 
shadowed the religious side of the celebration. The 
man craving for sensation led to the exhibition of wild 
beasts, whose contests were heartily enjoyed. The most 
savage animals were imported from the ends of the 
earth. Worse than this were the gladiatorial contests, oiadia- 
which first appeared at Rome in 264 B.C. Etruria, not g"^"^^ 
Greece, was the home of this demoralizing sport, but it 
found a congenial place in Roman life. At first exhibited 
at private funerals, it soon became a part of public life. 
In the beginning captives fought for their lives before the 
populace; then men were trained for this purpose and 
were hired to exhibit their skill in public. The idle and 
sensation-loving horde of city-folk went wild with excite- 
ment over such displays. Conservative and decent 



380 Decline of the Republic 

Gambling, officials tried in vain to suppress them by law. Gam- 
bling with dice for high stakes was a growing vice of the 
rich and no legislation could avail against it. Music and 
dancing came to be regular accompaniments of luxurious 
feasts. The sober sense of the old Roman was shocked 
by the establishment of a dancing-school, where the 
children of high and low mingled in dances which were 
far from becoming. 

443. The Theatre. — Greek influence was responsible 
for the rapid growth of theatrical performances. Tem- 
porary wooden theatres on Greek models began to be 
erected about 145 B.C., though a permanent stone struct- 
ure was not put up till 55 B.C. It held at least seventeen 
thousand people. The plays were mostly comedies 
adapted from Greek models. The actors were mainly 
slaves, hired from a training master. Few well-to-do 
people were present, as they regarded the performances 

A Debasing as commou and improper. This fact naturally lowered 

Influence. , r ^ ^ ^t-m i i • • 1 • -r-. 

the tone of the theatre. 1 he plays, lacking m their Roman 
copies the Greek lightness of touch, were often coarse 
and vulgar and sometimes made sport of virtue and re- 
ligion. Immense throngs of common people attended 
them and they grew into great popularity. In course of 
time their character improved; they came to have some 
better elements and aided in the growth of culture. 

444. Improvement in Education. — It must not be sup- 
posed that Hellenistic influence was all for the worse. 
Roman education, for example, was vastly improved by 

Greek it. Greek literature, with its wondrous charm and 

and power, was thrown open to the Romans; all that was 

Literature neccssary was that systematic instruction in the Greek 

studied. ■' -^ 

language should be given. This the multitudes of Greek 



liellenizing of Ro7ne 381 

slaves could easily furnish. It now became the custom 
that every child, whose education was properly attended 
to, learned Greek. Soon every educated man could speak 
Greek and even make speeches in it. To master an- 
other language than one's own is in itself a liberal edu- 
cation, but, in addition to this, the Greek language led 
the Roman to the knowledge of an unparalleled litera- 
ture. Soon other and higher forms of Greek training Philosophy, 
came to Rome — the schools of rhetoric and philosophy 
(§§ 266-267, 324) for the further broadening of the Roman 
mind. Thus, in addition to the acquirement of knowl- 
edge for practical ends (§ 393), came education for mental 
culture. Another educative influence was the wider hori- New 
zon which opened before the Roman in the new lands y"^^'*^ °^ 
which fell under his sway. Knowledge of other civiliza- 
tions than his own, of the wonderful east with its treasures 
of art and architecture, was possible for him. Young 
men were sent out to travel in these lands, either with a 
tutor, or attached to a staff of an official or a general. 
They came back with a larger outlook on men and things, 
no longer limited by their own native town; wider ex- 
perience gave them sounder judgment and prepared 
them for intelligent leadership. 

445. Birth of Roman Literature. — Roman literature 
and art likewise received a mighty uplift from Greece in 
these days. As the Greek school-teacher revolutionized Under 
Roman education, so he also produced Roman literature, influence. 
Lucius Livius Andronicus (about 250 B.C.), a Greek 
from Tarentum, translated the "Odyssey" into Latin, 
and this book gradually supplanted the Twelve Tables 
(§ 364) as the chief school text-book. He also adapted 
Greek plays, chiefly those of Euripides (§ 228), for the 



382 Decline of the Republic 

Roman stage. Gnaeus Naevius (about 225 B.C.) and 
Quintus Ennius (239-169 B.C.) followed in his footsteps 
in writing Latin plays. Thus the Latin drama on Greek 

Comedy. models was established. Latin comedy, founded on the 
plays of Menander (§304), was produced. Here the 
great names are Titus Maccius Plautus (254-184 B.C.) 
and Publius Terentius (Terence). The latter was born 
at Carthage after the close of the second Punic war and 
taken as a slave to Rome (196-159 B.C.). The plays of 
the former are vivacious and strong; those of the latter 
are smooth and elegant. Both Nasvius and Ennius 
wrote historical poems; the one described the first Punic 
war, the other told the story of Rome from the beginning 
in rude Latin hex-am'e-ters in Homeric fashion. Prose 
writing began; the subject was history and the language 

History. was Greek. Thus Quintus Fabius Pictor wrote of Ro- 
man history down to the second Punic war, in which 

Cato the he himsclf was an actor. Soon Latin prose appeared, the 
representative of which was Cato the Elder, who wrote his 
Roman history, called the 0-rig'i-nes, about 168 B.C.; by 
his various writings on agriculture, war and law he made 
Latin a literary tongue. He is the real founder of Latin 
prose. It was not long before two branches of literature 
appeared in which the native Roman genius displayed 

Satire. itself Supremely — satire and oratory. The founder of 

Roman satirical poetry was Gains Lucilius (148-103 
B.C.), whose biting couplets were intensely enjoyed by 

'Oratory. all but their subjects. The first of the great orators were 
two contemporaries, Lucius Licinius Crassus and Marcus 
Antonius (about 100 B.C.). "To hear both in one day 
was the highest intellectual entertainment which Rome 
afforded." At the same time Roman law took a step for- 



Hellenizing of Rome 383 

ward by the legal writings of Quintus Mucius Scsevola Law. 
(se'v 5 la) (about loo b.c), who collected and organized 
into a series of works the legal material that had been 
gathering for centuries. Architecture now had the ser- Architect 
vices of Greek masters and was based on Greek models. ^^ *° 
Thus around the Forum arose stately public porticoes 
like those of Athens; elsewhere in Rome marble temples 
and galleries began to appear. An era of good taste in 
sculpture and painting began as the Romans came in 
contact with the masterpieces of Greek art in Syracuse, 
Corinth and Athens. Unfortunately, they were not satis- 
fied with admiring these; they began to covet them and 
soon to exercise the right of conquerors by carrying them 
off to Rome. In this field even more clearly than in liter- 
ature the overpowering effect of contact with Greece, is 
to be seen. It is a new Rome that art and literature re- 
veal to us after, and in consequence of, the conquest of 
Greece. 

446. The Transforming Effects of These Influences. — 
Did all these changes take place in Rome without effect 
upon the character of her people ? This is the most im- 
portant question, and the answer to it reveals as startling 
a transformation as has thus far been recorded. The 
change may be stated in brief. Capitalism and culture 
destroyed the old Roman character without putting any- 
thing better in its place. 

447. Social Ideals Broken Down. — They broke down 
the old social equality in which all lived for the good of 
the state (§§ 362, 392). Wealth divided men into classes 
and introduced new and strange standards of life. Self- 
ishness took the place of patriotism. Men sought to get 
something out of the state instead of doing something for 



384 Decline of the Republic 

the state. The old Roman idea of doing one's duty in 
one's place turned into the practice of making the most 
of one's position and opportunity. Thus each class se- 
cured all sorts of distinguishing marks; the senators had 
special seats at the circus; the citizen had a special dress 
and a ring to separate him from the foreigner; every suc- 
cessful general sought for some special recognition of his 
The services. The best side of this change is seen in the in- 

sij"^'^ fiuence of Greek culture on the higher class. The narrow- 

preference of everything Roman passed into a higher 
appreciation of what other peoples had done in art and 
literature. The circle of men that gathered about the 
younger Scipio* was characterized by a generous and 
broad culture. Greek men of letters were welcomed by 
Poiybius. them. Thus Polybius, one of the leaders of the Achaean 
league whom the Romans forced to go to Rome (§429), 
wrote in the spirit of this finer life a History in Greek, 
in which he hailed the union of Greek thought and Ro- 
man action as a good omen for the world's future. It 
is the first worthy piece of historical literature extant 
since Thucydides (§ 227). Yet even this circle, because 
of its broader life, regarded itself as separated from the 
common herd. 

448. Moral Standards Destroyed.— Capitalism and cult- 
ure removed the old Roman ideas of right and wrong. 
Money altered the way in which people thought it proper 
to live, introducing luxury and show in the place of the 
former simplicity (§389). Deeds were done for gain 

* Publius Cornelius Scipio, the victor over Hannibal at Zama, was 
given the title of Africanus. The adopted son of his son was Publius 
Scipio, called iEmilianus because he was the son of iEmilius Paulus, the 
victor at Pydna. He is also known as Africanus the younger because of 
his capture of Carthage. 



Decay of Morals 385 

which before would have been despised. The old Ro- 
man self-respect and dignity changed to pride and arro- 
gance ; these bred brutality in relation to foreigners. The 
Greeks, with their fine manners and cringing ways, were 
treated with contempt and abuse. Slaves, now so numer- 
ous at Rome, were beneath contempt and often handled 
with outrageous cruelty. The populace at Rome, once 
loyal and laborious, were also corrupted by the new spirit 
of greed and power. The gladiatorial games brutalized 
them. The low comedies, borrowed from Greece and 
vulgarized in the process, were as degrading to their 
morals as they were attractive to their sense. The votes 
of the citizens began to be estimated by their money 
value and soon were freely bought and sold. Money 
even corrupted the home life; Roman matrons and daugh- 
ters sought to lay up fortunes, and prized gain beyond 
duty to husbands and fathers. Increa,sing extravagance 
and greed led to fam.ily troubles. Divorces began to 
grow in frequency; marriages for money were not un- 
common. Thus public and private life was drifting 
away from the old moorings, and the new ways of living 
offered no stable anchorage. Many, it is true, sought 
to stem the tide and stood for the old standards. Their The con- 
foremost representative was Cato the Elder, who fought |"uggi7^ 
for the ancient ideals of simplicity and patriotism with in Vain. 
fierce denunciations of the novelties of the time. But he 
had no success, because he had nothing to put in the place 
of the new. The past was forever gone and no man 
could bring it back again. 

449. Roman Religion Discredited. — Roman religion, 
in its old forms and ideals (§ 396), went the way of all 
the old life. Greek relisrion had alreadv been discredited 



386 Decline of the Republic 

by philosophy (§§ 225, 324), and the old Roman faith was 
less able than the Greek to stand against the keen Greek 
intellect. Thus the educated classes lost faith in the 
ideas that underlay the Roman ritual (§§ 347, 396), and 
the priests had little confidence in their ceremonials ex- 
cept as necessary parts of the political machine. The 
literary men of the time, like Ennius, openly expressed 
doubts about religion. The mass of the people caught 
the contagion, laughed at the jests on sacred subjects in 
the comedies of the time, and soon ceased to be influenced 
by the old faith. Meanwhile, new forms of Greek re- 
ligion were offered to them, as strange as they were at- 
tractive. Such were the worship of Dionysus (§ 134), 
called in Rome Bacchus, and Cybele, a goddess of Asia 
Minor (§ 319), who appealed, not to the old Roman 
sense of duty, but to the feelings, and led men away into 
all sorts of superstitions. The state did not favor these 
worships, but, offering nothing to take their place, it was 
powerless to keep the Roman populace from running 
after them. Certainly they were better than no religion, 
and the old Roman faith was decayed and powerless to 
restrain or to help. Greek culture could help the edu- 
cated class here by the teachings of philosophy, and, as 
time went on, the various schools that had flourished in 
Greece (§ 324) established themselves among the Romans 
and found many followers. 

450. Effect on Public Life. — Roman public life was 
deeply affected by all these influences. They showed 
themselves in various ways. A sharp cleavage was made 
between the public activities of the different classes. 
The nobles took a tighter grasp upon the public offices 
and distributed them among their several families. 



Greed for Wealth. 387 

Sometimes one family, like the Scipios, sought to keep 
them within their own circle. Already it was made illegal 
for one to be re-elected to an office until a ten years' inter- 
val had passed. A law fixed an order in which offices 
should be held and the age at which one could occupy 
them.* Hence, it was practically impossible for "new 
men," as non-nobles were called, to get into office (§ 418). 
The men of business now began to use the state for their 
own purposes. It was their influence that dictated the influence 
wars of the period; they secured the destruction of rival Money 
commercial cities like Carthage and Corinth (§ § 433-434) . Power. 
The faithful allies, like Pergamon and Rhodes, which 
had been the leading commercial states of the east, were 
unjustly treated in order to increase Roman business 
predominance. The greed of the nobles made futile the 
attempts to revive Italy's peasant class, since they wanted 
more and more land for their estates. Colonies ceased 
to be sent out from Rome. The cruel treatment of 
slaves on these estates led to uprisings, like the slave 
revolt in Sicily, which threw that province into a state of 
anarchy from 136-132 B.C. All provinces came to be 
the prey of capitalistic robbery and extortion. The mass civic 
of the citizens, in their turn, began selfishly to shut out 
others from their privileges. Once citizenship had been 
a burden; now it was a source of profit, and the faithful 
allies that had made possible Rome's victory over Hanni- 
bal were jealously excluded from it. Indeed, little by 
little these allies saw their ancient rights withdrawn and 
themselves treated as subjects. In 177 B.C. they were 
denied their customary share of the spoils of war. Citi- 
zens began to expect more in the way of festivals and 

* This order was called the ciirsus honorum, the "career of honors." 



Selfishness. 



388 



Decline of the Republic 



games from the officials. Their votes were even openly 
bought. The introduction of the ballot in the assemblies 
although an improvement on the old method of voting 
(§ 422), aided bribery. In 156 B.C. a magistrate was em- 
powered to dispense with holding an assembly of the 
people, if the auspices (§ 348) were unfavorable; thus 
religion became a political instrument to thwart the pop- 
ular will. All these facts show how the original unity 
of the Roman state was giving way to factions, each in- 
tent on its own selfish interests. 



REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What is meant by nobiles, auspices, 
curule office, cursus honorum, peristyle, propraetor, Forum? 
2. For what were the following famous: Cato the Elder, 
Ennius, Lucilius, Appius Claudius, Menander, Dionysus? 3. 
Explain the difficulties in the problems of the senate in this 
period. 4. What was the Roman attitude toward military 
service? 5. Characterize the city of Rome. 6. Explain 
" failure of popular government " as applied to the period 
of decline. 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the origin and purpose 
of the Roman theatre with those of the Greek (§§ 160, 206). 

2. Compare a Roman citizen in this period with one in 350 b.c. 

3. What is the difference in the attitude toward money between 
a Greek of the age of Pericles (§§ 199-201) and a Roman of 
this age? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Religion and Politics. How 

and Leigh, pp. 288-293. 2. Provincial Administration, How and 
Leigh, pp. 310-313. 3, Economic Questions, {a) Land, How 
and Leigh, pp. 305-310. {b) Revenue, How and Leigh, pp. 314-315. 
(c) Business, How and Leigh, pp. 318. {d) Slavery and Agriculture, 
How and Leigh, pp. 316-318. 4, Cato the Censor. How and 
Leigh, pp. 302-305. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Roman Life 

and Manners under Greek Influence. Morey, pp. 148-152; 
Myres, ch. 23; Seignobos, ch. 11. 2. Delos and Its Relations 
with Rome and Athens. William Scott Ferguson, (a) The Rise 



Difficulties of Senate 380 

of Delos in Trade, Hellenistic Athens, pp. 329-333. {h) Govern- 
ment and Trade Conditions on Delos. Ferguson, pp. 346-366, 
381-384, 403-409. (c) Religious Culls on Delos. Ferguson, pp. 
3S5-399. 3. Corruption of Public Life. Munro, pp. 99-100 
(source); Myres, ch. 26; Abbott, ch. 5; Seignobos, ch. 12; Bols- 
ford, ch. 6; Morey, pp. 143-148; Shuckburgh, ch. 32. 4. The 
Beginnings of Roman Literature. Mackail, pp. 3-38; Laing, 
pp. 1-62 (translation of the Phormio of Terence). 5. Roman 
Religion under Greek Influence. Seignobos, pp. 148-251. 6. 
The Gladiatorial Games. Johnston, pp. 242-252. 7. Cato the 
Censor. Plutarch, Life of Cato; Munro, pp. 95-97 (source); Shuck- 
burgh, pp. 518-521; Seignobos, pp. 156-359; Botsford, pp. 143-146. 
8. How far was Cato's claim true that should the Romans 
come thoroughly to imbibe Greek literature they would lose 
the empire of the world? 9. The Effect upon the Proletariat 
of the Rise in the Standard of Living, Ferrero's Greatness and 
Decline of Rome, \ol. I, pp. 79-96. 10. How Money was Made 
and Spent. Greenidge, vol. I, pp. 11-25, 30-58. 11. Land 
Ownership and Control. Greenidge, vol. I, pp. 64-80. 12. The 
Slaves — a Problem. Greenidge, vol. I, pp. 80-100. 13. The 
Thirty-Five Tribes. Botsford, Roman Assemblies, pp. 51-65 
14. A Summary of Comitial History. Botsford, Roman As- 
semblies, pp. 473-477. 



451. Difficult Position of the Senate. — The position 
of the senate became, in fact, more embarrassing from 
day to day. When the last state which menaced Italy 
ceased to exist in 167 B.C. the real trial of the government 
began. There was no longer any great national danger 
to compel the nobles, the equites and the commons to 
rally vigorously to its defence. General relaxation fol- 
lowed. Yet the task of the government was greater than 
ever before. It had not only to keep the provincial mag- 
istrates in check; it had to see that officials who changed 
annually did not misgovern too badly; and it had to 
guard against the malpractices of contractors upon 
whom it was dependent for its revenues. Above all, it 



390 Decline of tfie Republic 

had to make the most severe military demands upon its 
citizens and allies without the incentive of pressing 
danger or expectation of rich booty. Year after year 
thousands of men had to be stationed in the new prov- 
inces or held in service in Spain or in the Alps or in 
Illyricum or some similar district where hard knocks were 
more plentiful than spoils. How many soldiers were 
necessary for these tasks it is difficult to estimate, but 
Augustus a hundred years later thought three hundred 
thousand too few. That was more than a fifth of the 
entire body of men of military age in Italy; and as is 
known Augustus was able to raise only half of his troops 
there. It is certain that the senate in 133 B.C. could not 
raise as many. Yet it doubtless needed more. The 
wars were not dangerous but they were the hardest kind 
of wars — guerilla struggles in the mountains, forests and 
deserts in which victory brought little glory while defeats 
and delays brought serious loss of prestige. The belief 
became general that the officers mismanaged the cam- 
paigns and that the senate chose its commanders un- 
wisely. There were constant appeals for more soldiers; 
but the recruiting was again and again stopped in Rome 
by the veto of rebellious tribunes. The city population, 
when not exempt from service through lack of property 
was thus freed from it by the power of the tribunate. 
This power could not be exercised outside the limits of 
Rome; hence the small farmers of Italy were made to 
bear the brunt of the levy, and the burden fell with special 
severity upon the "allies" whose lack of the franchise 
prevented them from retaliating upon the officials. The 
burden of empire thus rested squarely upon the shoulders 
of the peasants of Italy, who on returning from a cam- 



Problems of City Government 391 

paign after many years of absence often found their 
farms gobbled up by the nobles for debt or unfit for cul- 
tivation through neglect. 

452. The Problem of Administration. — The city of 
Rome was their natural refuge. This had grown enor- 
mously in the past century. It may have advanced in 
population from one hundred thousand to five hundred 
thousand in this interval. Since it was unable to spread The "Great 
over a large area like a modern city, congestion was the ^''^■" 
only possible result. The streets were narrow, the houses 
high; great insula of little tenements appeared; the 
menace of fire became horrible, and the preservation of 
order and decency impossible. What could annually 
changing aediles do with such a situation, without a 
police or fire department? How could such a city be 
provisioned? In Alexandria the problem was com- 
paratively simple since at its door was the granary of 
Egypt. Rome, on the other hand, had to import its 
food from a distance — from Sardinia, Sicily, Africa. 
For its food supply it was dependent upon the winds and 
waves, and should the corn ships be delayed by storms, 
the prices of grain soared in Rome and the urban mob 
was at once in an uproar. Yet this mob constituted the Failure of 
bulk of the sovereign assembly; it is true that it con- ^^^^_ 
trolled only four-thirty-fifths of the total vote in the ment. 
comitia, but in the meetings which preceded the voting it 
could reign as king riot. The fact was that govern- 
ment by a general assembly of the people was possible, as 
Aristotle held, only when the citizens were few. It had 
been developed when Rome was an aggregate of peas- 
ants; now that Rome had a population of half a million, 
made up of restless, discontented men of a great variety 



392 



Decline of the Republic 



of races, languages and stations — "step-sons of Italy," 
Scipio .^milianus called them — it was antiquated. 
Long since, Alexandria had ceased to be a self-govern- 
ing city, and had come under the control of permanent 
officials appointed by the crown. Was Rome to have the 
same fate^ If so, who should wear the crown? 

453. The Beginnings of Civil Conflict. — With such a 
situation in Rome's inner life a conflict of interests and 
powers was unavoidable. The failure of the leading 
men to solve the problems of administration was certain 
to call out attempts from all sides to cope with the difficul- 
The Action ties which they were not able to meet. The first attempt, 
Gracchus, which precipitated a century of struggle, was made in 
133 B.C., by the tribune Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. 
A member of the senatorial nobility, the grandson of 
Scipio Africanus, and brother-in-law of Scipio ^Emil- 
ianus, he was a valiant soldier of the republic and, at the 
same time, highly educated in the new learning of the 
times. The miserable economic decay of Italy, the 
hard fate of the veteran soldiers and the decline of the 
class available for military service appealed to him, and 
he sought to restore prosperity by introducing an agrarian 
law for the distribution of the public lands among the 
citizens. "The beasts of the field," ran his impassioned 
plea, "have their holes and their hiding-places, but the 
men who fight and die for Italy have not a sod which 
they can name their own. They are called the lords of 
the whole earth and their generals urge them to fight for 
their homes and the graves of their ancestors, yet not a 
parcel of land is theirs." The limit upon the amount 
of public land to be leased to any one citizen set, it was 
alleged, by the Licinian laws of 366 B.C. (§ 368) had been 



Tiberius Gracchus 393 

disregarded to such an extent that practically all of it had 
been taken up in the great estates of the rich proprietors. 
The law of Tiberius Gracchus established a commission 
of three {tri-um'vi-rate) to secure the carrying out of the 
new provisions which contemplated reducing the illegal 
holdings to their proper limits and assigning the remainder 
in equal lots of thirty jugera each to landless citizens. 
The proposal created a storm in which the senate placed 
itself in opposition to the tribune; even his colleague, 
Octavius, interposed a veto. Thereupon Tiberius, sup- Tiberius 
ported by the country population to whom the prospect t/j^e^ 
of new lots for themselves and their sons was attractive, People, 
appealed directly to the people, who responded by depos- 
ing the obstructive tribune and passing the law. The 
commission was appointed and began its work. To 
carry out his plans, Tiberius found it necessary to over- 
ride the law prohibiting re-election (§ 450) and stand 
again for tribune. But the nobles banded against him; ms Death, 
a riot was raised at election time, the partisans fought in 
the streets of Rome, and Tiberius was killed. 

454. Rise of Parties. — In his zeal for reform Tiberius 
Gracchus had raised issues hitherto unheard of at Rome, 
and, no doubt, not grasped by himself. He was the 
first to bring new political ideas into the field, which 
divided the community into parties. The opti-ma'tes, 
or aristocrats, and the pop-u-lar'es, or democrats, hence- 
forth struggle for leadership. Men of all classes array 
themselves on either side. In appealing to the people The 
as sovereign in election and legislation without regard pg^^^g'^!'^" 
to senate and magistrates, he brought a new doctrine 
into Roman politics. This was a Greek idea (§ 191); 
at Rome the state depended upon the joint action of 



394 



Decline of the Republic 



Murder of 
Africanus 
the 
Younger. 



War 
on the 
Senate. 



Court of 
Extortion 
Given, to 
the Equites. 



all three and did not go back to any one as supreme. 
Party struggles led to civil strife, in which reason gave way 
to force and the state was shaken to its foundations. 

455. Work of Gaius Gracchus. — Ten years passed; 
the law prohibiting re-election to ' the tribunate was 
annulled, the powers of the land commission were taken 
from it, but not till the number of registered citizens had 
increased in six years from 319,000 to 394,000. Scipio 
^milianus, the captor of Carthage, the victor at Nu- 
mantia, the sturdiest pillar of the best Roman society, 
the greatest man of his age, was foully murdered and a 
judicial investigation of ths crime was suppressed. Then, 
in 123 B.C., Gaius Gracchus, younger brother of Tiberius, 
was elected tribune. The senate had put every possible 
obstacle in the way of his political advancement, but, 
haunted by a vision of his dead brother and animated by 
a fierce desire for vengeance on the government which 
had done the murder, there was no stopping him in the 
career which he foresaw meant ultimately his own death. 
Tiberius had been a sincere reformer, and where the 
evils were so many and complex, what wonder that at 
times he hesitated ? Gaius showed greater resolution, 
clearer insight and more vigorous leadership; for his 
main idea was a simple one, to break down the power 
of the senate at all cost. It is true that each one of his 
measures has something to be said in its favor, but in 
their totality they reveal the spirit of the vendetta. Thus, 
too, he overreached himself and perished disastrously. 
He won the support of the urban pro-le-tar'i-at by having 
grain distributed to it monthly at one-half the market 
price; he conciliated the country population by restoring 
the powers of the agrarian commission; above all, he cast 



Gains Gracchus 395 

a dagger, as he said, in the midst of the optimates, and 
at the same time gained an invaluable backing for him- 
self by transferring the jury courts, which called the 
provincial governors to an accounting (§435), from the 
senators to the equestrians. The powerful financial inter- 
est which henceforth for over forty years was virtually in 
control of provincial government he further seduced from 
its old alliance with the senate by requiring that the con- 
tracts for collecting the tithes in the province of Asia 
should be awarded in Rome, combined in one, in such a 
way that none but the rich financial syndicates of the 
capital could undertake them, 

456. Attitude of Gaius. — It is true that these two 
measures taken together handed over the Greeks of Asia, 
bound hand and foot, to the depredation of the tax- 
gatherer; but Gaius Gracchus had no thought for the 
lessening of provincial oppression. He made it worth 
while for the equites to fight for their control of the courts 
of extortion and their place of advantage over the sena- 
torial government. That provided for the future deg- 
radation of the senate. In the meanwhile he was him- The 
self for two years master of Rome. It did not take long Mast"rstiie 
for people to discover that to get things accomplished Govem- 
they had to go to him and not as of old to the senate. 
Hence, as Plutarch says: "The people looked with 
amazement at the man himself, seeing him attended by 
crowds of building contractors, artisans, ambassadors, 
magistrates, soldiers and learned men, to all of whom 
he was easy of access." The appearance, if not the fact, 
of a tyranny was there. Moreover, he rejoiced the Colonies, 
city population, indeed, by proposing to send colonies 
not only to Tarentum and Capua, but also to Carthage; 



396 Decline of the Republic 

but this project of transmarine colonization menaced the 
merchants and bankers of Rome who saw in the new 
city likely rivals of themselves for the business of the 
provinces. Finally, in order to get more land to assign 
he proposed to give the franchise to.the Latins (and Latin 
rights to the Italians) in order to be able, without in- 
fringing the rights of allied, and hence separate, states, 
to confiscate Roman public land which their citizens had 
occupied without a clear title. This roused the anger 
of the masses who saw their privileges about to be ex- 
tended to a large part of Italy; hence the coalition of 
populace, equites and tribunes went to pieces. The 
senate put forward Lucius Drusus to propose cheaper 
corn and more attractive colonies. Gains failed of 
election to the tribunate in 121 B.C. and shortly after was 
set upon by the consul Opimius and slain, with three 
thousand of his adherents. The agrarian legislation 
was futile; the work of the commission languished; 
fields assigned were abandoned, and by iii B.C. all 
holders of public land, rich and poor, were confirmed 
in their possession. But the work of Gaius Gracchus 
lived after him and the senate never recovered from the 
wounds he inflicted. 

457. The Senate Fails to Manage Affairs. — When the 
conflict broke out again, party leaders of a different 
type came to the front and with them a new force took 
the field. The victorious senate again tried to conduct 
affairs. They failed in the notable instance of the Ju-gur'- 
thine war (11 2-106 B.C.). The king of Numidia, an 
ally of Rome, left his kingdom on his death to his three 
sons. One of them, his illegitimate nephew by birth, 
his son by adoption only, Ju-gur'tha, sought to secure the 



Jf^ar with Nuinidia 397 

prize for himself; he killed one brother and made war 
on the other, Ad'her-bal by name. The latter appealed to 
the senate, which first divided the kingdom anew, giving 
to Adhcrbal the capital, Cirta, but assigning to Jugurtha 
the districts of greatest military value; then, when 
Jugurtha attacked his rival in his capital, it sent two em- 
bassies to expostulate, but did nothing to prevent the fall 
of Cirta (112 B.C.). With it fell Adherbal; but, what 
was more important, the wild Numidian victors slaugh- 
tered a flourishing settlement of Italian money-lenders 
and traders who had been plying their opprobrious busi- 
ness in the capital. This roused the equites in Rome to 
action, and the populace became unmanageable. War 
was declared upon Jugurtha, but the officers put in 
charge of it accepted the submission of the king and left 
him in possession of all Numidia. The people believed Bribery, 
that wholesale bribery had been practised by Jugurtha 
to secure this end, and, indeed, such was probably the 
case. He was, accordingly, asked to Rome to give evi- 
dence (iioB.c). A tribune refused to let him testify, and 
he had his only rival for the throne, who had taken refuge 
in Rome, murdered; whereupon he was ordered to quit 
Italy at once. His parting remark, it is said, was: "A 
city for sale, and ripe for ruin, if a purchaser can be 
found." 

The next news was that a Roman army forty thousand Difficult 
strong had been ambushed and forced to capitulate to 
Jugurtha. The senate tried to stem the storm of rage by Marius. 
appointing Metellus, an able and honorable man, to the 
command and giving him a rising popular hero, the 
eques Gains Marius, as legate (109 B.C.). This meant 
serious war, which the senate, alive to the diflSculties of 



398 Decline of the Republic 

campaigning with infantry in a vast tract of desert and 
mountains against a nimble and resourceful foe, had 
tried to avoid. Metellus conducted the war with skill 
and vigor, but it could not be brought to an end in a 
year, or even in three; hence in 107 B.C. the democracy 
took matters into their own hands and made Marius 
consul for the purpose of bringing the war to a close. 
This he speedily accomplished. Jugurtha, betrayed by 
the king of Mauretania, was surrendered to Sulla, Marius's 
brilliant young lieutenant, brought a prisoner to Rome 
and died in a Roman dungeon. 

458. The Terror from the North. — Meanwhile, a 
serious danger had been threatening Italy from the 
north. For a long time the Romans had been making 
war in Gaul on the other side of the Alps (Gallia Transal- 
pina), and had established a province called Gallia Nar- 
bonensis, from the name of the capital city, Narbo. 
Now, down from the distant and unknown north came 
two peoples, the Cimbri and Teu'to-nes, who sought 
homes in the more fertile south. With them, in all prob- 
ability, the Germans make their entrance into history. 
Breaking their way through the already weakened bar- 
rier of Gallic tribes, they came face to face with the Ro- 
man armies and defeated them in four successive battles 
(in 113, 109, 107, 105 B.C.), the last defeat, sustained at 
A-rau'si-o on the Rhone, being a disaster comparable in 
loss of life to Cannae. The route into Italy stood open 
to them. Dismayed at the prospect, the democracy 
again stepped forward and elected their hero Marius as 
consul and defender against this dreaded foe. For four 
successive years (104-101 B.C.) he was thus chosen. The 
invaders had separated — the Teutones taking the route 



Marius 399 

from the northwest, the Cimbri passing around the Alps 
and entering Italy from the northeast. In 102 B.C. Ma- 
rius met the Teutones at Aquae Sextiae and defeated 
them. The next year (loi B.C.), joining his colleague, 
who was facing the Cimbri in the Raudine plains (Ver- 
cellce), he annihilated them. Thus Italy was saved and 
Marius was its savior. He had gained his success not ms 
more by his own valor than by the military reforms he ^gf^^g 
introduced. Doing away with the usual practice of 
levying soldiers and limiting the levy to men of property 
(§ 3 5°) J he invited Roman citizens to enroll themselves 
under his banner regardless of property qualifications. 
As a result he had an army made up of men who wished 
to fight and were devoted to their commander. More- Tactical 
over, important changes in tactics were made by Marius. ^^ Marius 
He took the spear from the Iriarii, and made all three 
lines alike in weapons; he threw together a maniple of 
each line to make the tactical unit subsequently used in 
Roman warfare — the cohort. It had a normal strength 
of six hundred, and ten cohorts constituted the legion. 
To this he gave as a standard, what subsequently was 
its most precious possession, a silver eagle on a staff. 

459. The New Situation: Marius and Sulla. — Thus the 
seed sown by the Gracchi had sprung up and borne un- 
expected fruit. The democracy placed at its head a 
military hero behind whom stood an army whose first 
interest was not loyalty to the state, but devotion to its 
leader. For the defence of the state abroad and the 
overthrow of enemies at home the democracy did not 
hesitate to re-elect its chief to the highest offices year after 
year. Marius held the consulship seven times. This 
example was soon followed by the other party. Military 



400 Decline of the Republic 

MUitary prowcss began to take the place of civic leadership. He 

Lei" the "^^^ Strongest who had an army under his command. 

People. Ambition got the better of patriotism and set military- 
power against civic right. The conflict of parties passed 
into the struggle of individuals occupying positions in 
which they controlled armies. 

One of these men who had gained his military educa- 
tion under the new captain in Africa and in Gaul was 

Sulla. to outdo Marius on his own field. This was Lucius 

Cornelius Sulla, a man of noble family, an aristocrat in 
temper and tastes, who took his stand on the side of the 
senatorial party. Sulla, like Marius, owed his oppor- 
tunity to the failure of the, senate, with its annually chang- 
ing officials at home and abroad, to preserve order in 
Rome and justice and peace in Italy and the provinces. 

Marius. Marius was no statesman. During his sixth consul- 

ship (loo B. c.) the democratic leaders, Sat-ur-ni'nus and 
Glaucia, plunged Rome into a series of useless civil con- 
flicts. Finally, the turmoil became so great that the 
senate called upon the consul to use the military power 
against his allies. The ideas of Marius were those of the 
business interests — the equites — to whom he belonged; 
hence he shrank from lawlessness and violence and did 
as the senate requested. Saturninus and Glaucia were 
seized and put in the senate chamber, but a hostile mob 
tore the tiles from the roof of the building and slew them 
and their following. Having abandoned the populares, 
Marius was neglected by the nobles after their victory, and 
retired to private life a disappointed and embittered man. 
460. The Franchise Problem. — The one leading ques- 
tion left unsettled was that of the franchise for the Italian 
allies, but with this neither optimates nor populares cared 



Social War 401 

to deal. Finally, in 91 b. c, from the side of the senate, Drusus. 
Livius Drusus, son of the tribune who completed the 
ruin of Gaius Gracchus, proposed, among other things, 
to give citizenship to them. The proposal was re- 
jected and Drusus lost his life in the struggle. The 
long-suffering allies, thus again deluded, rose in arms, re- 
nounced their allegiance and undertook the founding of 
a new Italian state, " Italica," with its capital at Corfinium. 
This formidable revolt, the Social* War (91-88 B.C.), The social 
was ended with a formal victory for Rome, but a virtual 
success for the allies, since a series of laws, granting citi- 
zenship to certain classes among them, was passed during 
the war and did more than Roman arms to weaken their 
opposition. 

These laws were the Lex Julia (90 B.C.), granting citi- citizenship 
zenship to Italian states not in rebellion, and the Lex ^^^^^^ 
Plau'ti-a Pa-pi^ri-a (89 B.C.), admitting all Italians with- Italians, 
out distinction to the franchise on application to the 
praetor within sixty days. At the same time all the cities 
of Cisalpine Gaul, not already granted the citizenship, 
received the Latin right. It seems, however, that the 
advantages of citizenship were limited from the fact that 
the new citizens were all confined to eight tribes. 

-461. Rise of Mithridates of Pontus. — During the 
Social War, Marius came again into action, but his 
services were eclipsed by the victories of his brilliant rival 
Sulla, who was elected consul in 88 B.C. The situation 
in the eastern provinces was alarming and a vigorous 
leader was required to cope with it. Among the states 
allied to Rome in Asia Minor was Pontus. To the throne 
of this kingdom, in about 115 B.C., came a remarkable 

* So called from the I^alin word for allies, Socii. 



402 Decline of the Republic 

ruler, Mithridates VI, whose ambition contemplated noth- 
ing less than the revival of an empire on the model of 
Alexander's, which should drive the Romans out of the 
east. Left free to act by the incompetence of the senate 
and its eastern representatives, he built up a vast coali- 
tion and, taking advantage of a wanton act of aggression 
on the part of the Roman ofl&cials, he launched his armies 
against them, defeated their forces and took possession 
of the province of Asia (88 B.C.). This victory was 
followed by a great revolt of the Greeks everywhere and 
by the massacre of all Romans throughout the province 
to the number of 80,000, and throughout Delos and the 
yEgean islands to the number of 20,000 more. Such 
was the fate of the harpies who, in the employ of the 
equites and, as we have seen (§ 455), beyond the reach 
of senatorial control, had been plundering and defiling 
for thirty-five years the fairest district in the eastern 
world. 

462. Sulla and the Democracy. — Awakened to the 
growing danger, the senate had arranged that Sulla should 
take the command against Mithridates, But the de- 
mocracy, claiming the right to make these appointments, 
under the leadership of the tribune Sulpicius, in 88 b. c, 
passed various so-called Sulpician laws, among them one 
appointing Marius to the position. Sulla, who had col- 
lected an army for his foreign task and was about to leave 
Italy, suddenly marched on Rome, and, for the first time 
in Roman history, a Roman army entered the walls and 
placed its commander in possession of the state. Sul- 
picius was killed, Marius fled, and their partisans were 
overawed. Then, having left his party in power, Sulla 
departed with his army for the war with Mithridates. 



Mithridates of Pontus 403 

"The story of the escape of Marius has grown into a romance: 
how he fled to Ostia, found a ship and was landed in Circeii, bafHcd 
by adverse winds; how he wandered by the shore faint and half 
starved, and just evaded his pursuers by wading and swimming 
toward two ships that hove in sight along the coast; how the skippers 
refused to obey the summons of the horsemen to surrender him, 
and yet, in their fear, abandoned him in his sleep on the land by the 
mouth of the Liris; how he hid in the marshes by Min-tur'nae, sunk 
to the neck in mud, was discovered and dragged to prison, and there 
abashed the Cimbric executioner by the thundering demand, 'Slave, 
darest thou slay Gains Marius?' how the magistrates set him on 
ship and sent him away; how he barely escaped with life from the 
praetor of Sicily, and landed in Africa hoping aid from the Numidian 
king; how the outcast hero sent back the message to the governor 
who bade him quit the province, 'Tell your master that you have 
seen Marius, an exile, sitting among the ruins of Carthage!' " * 

463. First Mithridatic War (87-84 B.C.) — Hardly had Party 
he disappeared when the consul Cinna, with the support of continue, 
an army, restored the democracy to power, recalled Marius 
and took bloody vengeance on its enemies. But its tri- 
umph was short. Marius did, indeed, enjoy a seventh 
consulship, but he died soon after his election, and Cinna 
headed an embarrassed and incompetent government till 
Sulla's return from the east brought it to an end. He had 
spent four years in bringing Mithridates to terms (87-84 
B.C.). The main struggle was in Greece which the van- 
guard of the army of Pontus had overrun before Sulla's 
advent. On his arrival with 30,000 veterans of the Social 
War, these troops took the defensive in the Piraeus and 
Athens, and kept Sulla at bay for a full year. Finally, 
Athens was taken by storm and sacked and the PiriEUs 
evacuated, but the main army of Mithridates had now 
arrived in Bceotia. This Sulla routed at Chaeronea in 

*How and Leigh, History of Rome, p. 417. 



404 



Decline of the Republic 



86 B.C., and he did the same to a second Pontic force at 
Orchomenus the year after; whereupon the war was 
carried into Asia and Mithridates sued for peace. He 
was left in possession of Pontus, but the province of Asia 
was recovered and its inhabitants forced to pay their ar- 
rears of tribute and 20,000 talents besides, a punishment 
which brought them to financial ruin. The other Greeks 
who had sided with Mithridates were also punished. 

464. The Vengeance of Sulla. — Then Sulla returned 
home to avenge himself on his adversaries. A decisive 
victory over the troops opposing him in Italy gave him 
entrance to Rome, and another in a desperate night 
battle at the Colline Gate (82 B.C.) over the Samnites, 
who had joined his opponents and had set forth, 70,000 
strong, on a wild march to the capital to destroy "the 
lair of the Roman wolves," placed him in possession of 
supreme power in 81 B.C. He was appointed dictator 
for the purpose of refounding the republic. His ac- 
cession was a signal for bloody massacres of his enemies, 
the confiscation of their property and the enrichment of 
his followers. Those whom he singled out especially for 
extirpation were the equites whom he regarded as mainly 
responsible for the embarrassments of the senate both at 
home and abroad. Hence, the names of the rich men of 
business were most numerous in his lists of the proscribed, 
whom any man might slay and none might harbor. 

465. The Sullan Constitution. — His political policy 
was simple, the restoration of the senate to supremacy 
and the establishment of its position by constitutional 
authority. The powers claimed by the people were swept 
away. The consent of the senate was required before 
measures could be proposed to either comitia; the trib- 



Sulla 405 

unes were stripped of all but intercessory powers (§358) Establishes 
and those holding the office of tribune made thereafter supremacy 
ineligible for other offices; the courts were restored to °f '^^ 

Senate. 

the senators (§455); the cursus honorum (§450) and 
the law against re-election to office were revived. But 
he did not stop with re-establishing and safeguarding 
the government of the senate. He made some important Suiia's 
administrative changes. The trials of criminal and other trative 
offences in the comitia had long since become a farce; Reforms, 
hence at the same time that Sulla transferred the court 
of extortion back to the senators, he added six others to 
it; so that special courts dealt henceforth with such things 
as peculation, bribery, treason, assassination, forgery and 
assault and battery. This was a considerable and, as New 
it proved, a permanent reduction of popular power, and c"™Js,^ 
it gave Rome, for the first time, a permanent judicial 
system for criminal cases. Sulla appointed as the presi- 
dents of these courts the praetors who did not have the 
trial of civil cases and whom he increased from four to 
six. There were thus eight prsetors, and like the two 
consuls, to whom he added the duties of the censors, they 
were fully employed with civil matters during their year 
of office in Rome and Italy. Hence he arranged that 
they should go to the provinces only as propraetors and 
proconsuls. Since there were at this time ten provinces 
(Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia, Farther Spain, Hither Spain, 
Africa, Macedon, Asia, Narbonese Gaul, Cilicia and 
Cisalpine Gaul*), there was one ex-magistrate for each. 
When a war should arise of such a magnitude that it ex- The 
tended beyond the territory of a single province and hence |y"^eme 
beyond the jurisdiction of a single magistrate, it was ar- 

* It is unknown when Illyricum became a province. 



406 Decline of the Republic 

ranged that the senate should be free to designate for its 
conduct the best citizen available without regard to his 
position. This relieved it of the obligation to intrust 
dangerous wars to the consuls who might or might not be 
competent generals; but it opened the way for ambitious 
men to secure in succession all the great commands and 
thus in time to become indispensable to the senate. One 
further change Sulla made: he increased the number of 
the senate from three hundred to six hundred and the 
number of the quaestors from eight to twenty, ten for do- 
mestic finance, one to keep the money chest of each for- 
eign magistrate. Since he arranged that ex-quaestors 
should enter the senate, provision was thus made for keep- 
ing its number at six hundred. 

Sulla Dies. Thcsc administration changes were the permanent part 
of Sulla's work. Having thus accomplished his object 
as he believed, Sulla resigned the office of dictator (79 
B.C.), retired to private life and died not long after. The 
senate was once more in the saddle, this time, as it seemed, 
legally seated in control. 

466. Sulla's Political Reforms Inadequate and Futile. 
— But, like the work of any man who moves against the 

Failure of irrcsistiblc current of history, Sulla's political reforms were 

Provincial • t-. i • • • i 

Administra- vam. Rome and its provinces were growing more and 
tion. more dependent upon one another. The food supply of 

Italy was largely met by the importation of grain from 
the provinces. The business of Rome stretched over the 
whole civilized world, and its progress depended upon 
the peace and prosperity of the provinces. Hence, a 
government that kept the provinces in order, that secured 
peace and established justice, was absolutely necessary. 
But just here the old Roman system was a failure. Rome 



Senate and Princeps 407 

was a city-state and its government was not organized for 
imperial rule over a wide domain. Neither senate nor solution of 
people was equal to the demand. The only way to solve problem 
the problem was to give large powers to the extraordinary 
magistrate, and this way, as we have seen, now lay open 
before the senate; yet this brought with it the danger that 
the state had been guarding against for centuries — mak- 
ing the magistrate too powerful, giving him control of the 
government. We have seen how the state was steadily 
moving in this direction. Marius and Sulla are examples 
of the tendency which was growing stronger and stronger. 
The party conflicts at Rome only opened wider the door 
of opportunity to the magistrates. Thus the expansion 
of Rome to an empire brought about the breaking down 
of the old constitution. 

467. The New Dangers to Rome. — Sulla's legislation 
was a feeble dam across the current, which soon carried 
it off. Shortly after his death Roman power was being 
threatened from three sides, (r) The province of Spain 
was in possession of the adherents of Marius, led by a 
gallant soldier, Sertorius. (2) A terrible insurrection of 
slaves in Italy broke out under the leadership of a glad- 
iator, Spartacus. (3) The east was in an uproar owing 
to'the ravages of pirates, having their seats on the coasts 
and islands of the eastern Mediterranean, especially 
Cilicia and Crete. They destroyed Roman commerce 
and even cut off the food supply from Rome. Mithri- 
dates, also, was recovering from his defeat and organiz- 
ing a new coalition to sweep the Romans out of the east. 

468. Rise of Pompey. — In the face of these troubles, 
the senate was forced to find a helper in the person of a 
young man who had won his spurs under Sulla. This 



408 Declhie of the Republic 

was Gnaeus Pompeius,* of noble family, whose father 
had been a successful general. In 77 B.C. he was given 
proconsular power by the senate though a private citizen 
at the time, and w^as sent into Spain, where he overcame, 
not Sertorius, who had been basely assassinated, but the 
weakling successor of Sertorius in 72 b.c. Then, return- 
ing to Rome, he sought the consulship. When the senate 
opposed him, he allied himself with Crassus, the richest 
man in Rome. Crassus was leader of the equites and 
had already brought the war with Spartacus to an end. 
Sulla's The two leaders turned to the democracy and obtained 
Over- its support by promising to overthrow the constitution of 

thrown. Sulla. Thus, in defiance of the senate, Pompey and 
Crassus were elected consuls and restored the powers of 
the tribunes and the comitia tributa. Sulla's political 
work perished less than ten years after his death. The 
most important consequence of the restoration of the 
power of the tribunate was that henceforth the people, 
on the initiation of a tribune, could virtually appoint the 
extraordinary magistrate instead of the senate. This 
was an important step toward monarchy. 

469. Gabinian Law; Pompey Sent to the East. — 
Meanwhile, the war with Mithridates was renewed and 
the Roman general Lu-cul'lus, a man of ability and 
worth, was able to win several victories (74-68 B.C.). 
But the devastations wrought by the pirates continued. 
Accordingly, in 67 B.C., the tribune Gabinius proposed to 
the people to give Pompey for three years complete con- 
trol of the entire Mediterranean and power over its coast 
for fifty miles inland equal to that of the provincial 
governors. The next year (66 B.C.), by the proposal of 

* The English form of his name, Pompey, will be henceforth used. 



PLATE XXX 





Julius Caesar 



Cicero 





Vespasian 



Hadrian 





Faustina 



Commodus 



TYPICAL ROMAN HEADS 



Cicero aiid Ccesar 409 

the tribune Manilius, the conduct of the war with Mithri- 
dates was also conferred upon him; by this "Manihan" 
law he was given unhmited authority for the settlement 
of the east. By these two laws Pompey was placed in a 
position of power which no Roman before him had ever 
occupied. 

470. New Leaders. — In support of these measures two 
men came forward who were destined thenceforth to play 
a large part in Roman life— Marcus Tullius Cicero and 
Gaius Julius Cassar. Cicero was a countryman, of Cicero. 
equestrian rank, who was rapidly rising to the position 

of the leading orator at Rome and head of the equites. 
A man of fine personal character and wide culture, he ms 
was zealous for the restoration of the old Roman constitu- j^eai!'^^ 
tion and the revival of the old Roman spirit. This he 
hoped to secure by giving the Italian element in Roman 
citizenship a larger place in the state. The people, thus 
braced and purified by the influence of this worthier and 
sounder element, he hoped to see unite with the senate 
in a new and firm government. It was a beautiful dream, 
and Cicero gave his life to its realization. Caesar belonged c^sar. 
to one of the oldest and proudest patrician families. He 
was a daring and far-seeing spirit, cherishing no dreams, 
eager to play a leading part in the politics of his day. 
Related by marriage to Marius, he took the side of the 
democratic party and from that standpoint sought to 
re-establish and glorify the Roman name. 

471. The Conspiracy of Catiline. — Pompey was in the 
east five years (67-62 B.C.). During his absence a crisis 
occurred at Rome which wellnigh destroyed the state. 
The rapid rise of the democracy encouraged the dis- 
contented and the miserable to hope for a change of 



410 Decline of the Republic 

fortune. A ruined and reckless patrician, Catiline by 
name, sought to unite all who were like himself in char- 
acter and fortune in a conspiracy to overthrow the govern- 
ment and plunder the rich. How widely the plot ex- 
tended was never known. Even Crassus arid Caesar are 
thought to have had knowledge of it. To meet the dan- 
ger feared rather than known, the more conservative 
citizens, optimates and equites united, elected Cicero as 
Cicero ouc of the cousuls for the year 63 B.C. He showed un- 

^^ver ows ^^qj^j^qj^ ^^[\\ ^^^ couragc in grappling with it, unearthed 
the conspirators and impeached them. Though Cati- 
line fled, other leaders were seized, and on the author- 
ity of the senate put to death by the consul. On January 
5, 62 B.C., Catiline, who had gathered an army, was over- 
thrown in battle and died fighting. It was Cicero's one 
splendid political success in uniting the best elements 
of the state in its defence, and he looked forward to the 
speedy realization of his dream (§ 470). But he was 
soon to be sorely disappointed. 

472. Pompey's Victories in the East. — The career of 
Pompey in the east had been one uninterrupted success. 
Forty days sufficed for him to clear the sea of pirates; he 
pursued them to their strongholds and destroyed them. 
Then he advanced against Mithridates and his son-in- 
law and ally, Ti-gra'nes of Armenia. A victory in 66 B.C. 
shattered the Pontic power and brought peace with Ti- 
granes. The Parthians also allied themselves with Pom- 
pey. Steadily Mithridates was hemmed in, until, in 63 
B.C., he fled to his dependency, the kingdom of Bosporus, 
to the north of the Black Sea, and there killed himself. 
His kingdom was made part of the Roman province of 
Bithynia. The kingdom of the Seleucidse (§319) was 



The First Triumvirate 411 

brought to an end and Syria became a province (64 B.C.). 
The Jewish king (§ 430) resisted Pompey, who stormed 
Jerusalem (63 B.C.) and reduced Judea to a Roman de- 
pendency ruled by high priests. The Euphrates river 
became the eastern boundary of the Roman state. Cities 
were founded, stable government was restored and pros- 
perity revived. Two new provinces, Bithynia-Pontus 
and Syria* were added to Rome's eastern possessions; 
the province of Cilicia, which had been established in 
102 B.C. at the time of Rome's first operation against the 
pirates, was enlarged and friendly alliances with the bor- 
der kings and chiefs were established or renewed. An 
immense sum was paid into the Roman treasury. Pom- 
pey had amply fulfilled his task and now returned to 
Rome, where he triumphed, in 61 B.C. 

473. The First Triumvirate. — The senate took an atti- 
tude of criticism and disfavor toward Pompey, and re- 
fused to give lands to his veterans or ratify his acts in 
the east. Looking elsewhere for allies, he joined with 
Caesar and Crassus in a coalition which has been called 
the first triumvirate. It meant that the united influence 
of all should be used to satisfy the desires of each. They 
were entirely successful. Caesar was elected consul for 
59 B.C.; as consul he secured for Pompey the things de- 
nied him by the senate; also Crassus and his friends were 
enriched. Csesar also obtained an appointment as pro-' 
consul in Gaul for five years, beginning in March, 59 B.C. 
The compact was followed by the marriage of Pompey 
to Caesar's daughter Julia. 

It turned out that Caesar's proconsulate in Gaul lasted 

* Crete was conquered by Metellus and made a province in this same 
period. 



412 Decline of the Republic 

Its for ten years. When his first term had two years still to 

run, the triumvirate met again (56 B.C.) at Luca and 
agreed to use their influence to have Pompey and Crassus 
elected consuls for 55 B.C. The two consuls would then 
see to it that Caesar's term should be prolonged for another 
five years, while they themselves were also to have each a 
five years' term as proconsul, Crassus in Syria and Pompey 
in Spain. The agreement was duly carried out. Crassus 
left for Syria in 54 B.C., where he was killed in battle with 
the Parthians at Carrhae the following year. Caesar re- 
mained in Gaul. Pompey lingered at Rome. 

474. Rome in Confusion. — Political affairs in Rome 
had been going from bad to worse. Intrigue and the 
strife of factions filled the city with confusion and turmoil. 
Partisan leaders surrounded by armed adherents paraded 
the streets and fought with one another. An adept at 
this sort of politics was the young and dissolute patrician, 
Publius Clodius, a democrat of the type of Catiline, who 
succeeded in terrorizing foes and friends alike. As trib- 
une, he proceeded to get Cicero banished in 58 B.C. for 
having violated the law of appeal by putting the Catili- 
narian conspirators to death (§ 471). A turn of the wheel 
brought the great orator back in triumph the next year. 
Clodius, finally, was killed in a street fight in 52 B.C. 
Pompey Pompcy had begun gradually to draw away from Caesar 
ward the and incline toward the optimates. Soon after the con- 
senate. fercuce at Luca (§ 473) his wife Julia died and, with the 
death of Crassus, the last link that bound him personally 
to Caesar was severed. In 52 B.C. he was made sole con- 
sul and introduced measures which revealed his alliance 
with the senate and his break with Caesar. Pompey was 
now at the zenith of his remarkable career. He was at 



GAUL 

At tlie time of CtesafN 



3IARCH OF CiESAR AND HIS ARMY 

Campaign 1 

Canipaif;n 2 

Campaign 3' 

Campaign t'^il^'^'Tl'i^'M&Cn.SHS''-^'" 

Campaign B^I^!l,"_^_i»_ ^^^^-^ 




Conquest of Gaul 413 

once sole consul in Rome, proconsul of the two Spains with 
liberty to govern them through legati; he had the right to 
levy troops in Italy, and was a special commissioner of the 
corn supply, with unlimited power over the Mediterranean 
sea and all its coasts and harbors. Such an accumula- 
tion of powers was substantially monarchy; if they could 
be enforced against Caesar, it was monarchy. 

475. Caesar in Gaul. — Jealousy and fear of Csesar 
may have had much to do with the new attitude now 
assumed by Pompey. For Caesar's career in Gaul had 
been remarkable. The ten years now drawing to a close 
(59-49 B.C.) had been occupied with hard fighting and 
skilful diplomacy. Assigned the provinces of Cisalpine 
and Transalpine Gaul and Illyricum, he proceeded at 
once to protect Roman interests on their borders, threat- 
ened by movements among the tribes beyond. The con- 
tinual tumult caused by quarrels between these tribes was 
heightened by the incoming of Germans from across the 
Rhine. Already the Helvetii, a Gallic tribe living in the 
country about the sources of the Rhone and Rhine, were 
hard pressed and prepared to move westward. If the 
pressure were not removed, the Roman province would 
sooner or later be threatened with invasion. Requests 
for help from Gallic tribes gave another opportunity 
for Cassar's interference. He crossed the Roman border, 
forced back the Helvetii who had already begun to move, 
drove the Germans in Gaul over the Rhine and plunged 
into a series of campaigns which, in successive years, car- 
ried his arms to the North sea, across the Rhine, to the 
shores of the Atlantic and into Britain.* Opposition 

* For Ca2sar's famous campaigns, the student is advised to read his 
equally famous Commentaries, 



414 Decline of the Republic 

was crushed or turned by alliance into friendship until 
the Roman name was supreme throughout all Gaul. 
No attempt was made to bring the country under the 
direct rule of Rome, but, following his army, came Ro- 
man commerce and culture to transform the people and 
prepare the way for the addition of Gaul to the empire. 
Importance Caesar's achievement had two results: (i) It turned Gaul 
^^^ into a bulwark of civilization to hold back advancing 
There. German barbarism and thus furnished a means for ex- 

tending this civilization and establishing it in the regions 
beyond Gaul. Thereby all succeeding periods of west- 
ern history down to our own day have been stamped with 
Rome's impress. (2) Caesar gained for himself men and 
money by which to take a commanding part in the further 
history of Rome. 

476. Caesar in Conflict with the Senate. — Caesar had 
sore need of these things, for Pompey, backed by the 
senate, was rapidly taking a more hostile attitude. 
Caesar's term as proconsul closed in March, 49 B.C., and 
he could not enter upon the consulship for which he 
wished to stand till 48 B.C. Meanwhile, he would be a 
private citizen and could be brought to trial and ruined 
on charges which he knew would be trumped up against 
him. Moreover, he could stand for the consulship only by 
coming to Rome in person; this he could not do without 
leaving his province and giving up his proconsulate. He 
sought to have these conditions waived in his case, but 
the senate refused. Finally, after endless negotiations, 
the senate commanded him to resign his province, and 
Pompey was called upon to save the state from him as a 
public enemy. In response Caesar crossed the Rubicon, 
a river which separated his province from Italy, and 



Ccesar Monarch 415 



marched rapidly on Rome with an army (January, 49 He 

Mai 

on Rome. 



B.C.). Rome was in alarm, and Pompey, with the ma- 



jority of the senate and a crowd of nobles, fled to the 
coast and crossed over to Greece, where he gathered an 
army from the eastern provinces. Caesar found himself, is Master 
without serious opposition, in possession of Italy and 
Rome. After a hasty expedition to Spain, where he 
overthrew Pompey's veteran armies under the command 
of his legates and thus freed his rear from danger during 
the coming struggle in the east, he was appointed dic- 
tator, held the elections, in which he was made consul 
(48 B.C.), and proceeded to enter upon the war with 
Pompey and the senatorial party. 

477. Cassar Wins the Roman World. — The decisive Pharsaius. 
battle was fought at Phar-sa'lus in Thessaly (48 B.C.). 
Pompey was beaten and his army scattered; he himself 
fled to Egypt, where he was murdered as he sought to 
land. But lesser commanders held out in the various 
provinces against the victor and he was compelled to 
make a series of campaigns against them. First, the 
east was brought into order. In Egypt, Cleopatra and 
her brother Ptol'e-my, descendants of the old Greek 
rulers, were placed on the throne under Roman pro- 
tection, and Caesar came under the fascination of the in- 
telligent and charming but morally unscrupulous young 
queen. A battle at Zela (47 B.C.) overthrew the son of 
Mithridates, who attempted to withstand him. It is of 
these incidents that Byron writes: 

"Alcides with the distaff now he seems at Cleopatra's feet, 
And now himself he beams and came and saw and conquered." 

The formidable array of Pompeian generals in Africa 
was annihilated in the battle of Thapsus (46 B.C.). A last 



416 



Decline of the Republic 



His Death. 



stand in Spain was made, only to be overthrown in 45 B.C. 
at the battle of Munda. After four years of fighting, Caesar 
was master of the situation, and the opportunity was 
open to him of solving the problems of the state, which 
had been in the balance for nearly a hundred years. 
But early in 44 B.C. (March 15) he was assassinated in 



BATTLE OF PHAKSALUS. / 




"^^ '^^^^^#^^ 



fl.«»F '*llll!W^ 



'"V«S^ 



"Jllu-w 







the senate-house by a band of conspirators, led by Gaius 
Cassius and a favorite friend, Marcus Brutus, and the 
Roman world again plunged into anarchy. 

478. His Work of Reorganization. — In the intervals 
of his campaigns, however, Cassar set himself to re- 
establish public order and civil administration both by his 
example and spirit and by his laws, (r) His attitude 
toward his enemies was an astonishingly mild one. No 
murders, no wholesale seizure of property, no gratifying 
of personal grudges marked his victory; on the contrary 



Policy of Cosfiar 417 

forgiveness of injuries and the employment of vanquished 
opponents in state service was the rule. This can only 
mean that the welfare of the state and not personal am- 
bition ruled his spirit. (2) He recognized his victory The 
as the supremacy of the magistracy over the other organs su^p^em^^ 
of state-life. The senate and the people had alike failed 
to administer affairs with success. Now it was the turn 
of the magistrate. The senate was reduced to its legiti- 
mate place as his adviser. To this end it was enlarged 
to nine hundred members, made more representative by 
being drawn from various ranks of society and districts 
of the empire; even "half-barbarian Gauls" were there. 
The people exercised its functions of law-giving and elec- 
tion under his bidding and direction. (3) He gathered He is 
all the magisterial powers into his own hand. The par- Magistrate, 
ticular office by which he ruled the state was that of dic- 
tator, but he combined with it consular, proconsular, 
tribunician and censorial powers, all of which were con- 
ferred upon him by senate and people. (4) The unifi- 
cation of the empire was one of his chief aims. The His im- 
centralization of magisterial powers in himself enabled ^q" jjg ** 

him to hold all affairs in his own hands and direct them Realiza- 
tion, 
himself. The chief outward sign of this was his favorite 

title, imperator. As imperator he possessed an impe- 
rium above and inclusive of that of other magistrates.* 
Hence, he alone ruled the provinces and he was head of 
the city government. His measures indicate his ideals. 
(a) Citizenship was conferred on a wider scale than ever 
before. The Gauls across the Po, colonies in the prov- 
inces and worthy persons among the provincials were 
given full rights and the Latin right was conferred upon 

* This is called the mahis im-beriutii. 



418 Decline of the Republic 

others, {h) Municipal government (§ 381) was unified 
and its institutions and powers determined more pre- 
cisely, (c) New colonies were established at Corinth and 
Carthage and decaying colonies and towns were revived 
by new settlers, {d) The city populace of Rome was 
curbed, political clubs were abolished, the number of 
those receiving state grain was cut down one-half; Rome 
began to be reduced from the position of a sovereign of 
subject lands to the place of a leading city, or capital, of 
an empire, {e) The soldiers of his armies were settled 
on lands obtained without confiscation. Thus law, 
rights, order and prosperity, common to all, began to 
other appear throughout the one empire. (5) Outside of po- 

Actmties. jj^j^^g^j affairs, the activities of Caesar were notable. He 
reformed the calendar by substituting for the indefinite 
lunar year the exact sun year of 3655 days. Public works 
were undertaken both for the benefit of the state and the 
employment of needy citizens. Chief among these was 
the Julian Forum, adorned with the temple of Venus, 
his patron goddess. We are told that he planned other 
extensive projects for beautifying the city and benefiting 
Italy, such as erecting a temple to Mars and a theatre, 
establishing public libraries, draining the Pomptine 
marshes and the Fucine lake, building a road over the 
Apennines, codifying the laws; but his death left them 
uncompleted. 

479. Literature in His Day. — Caesar's genius was 
many-sided, almost universal. He possessed striking 
literary power in an age of vigorous intellectual activity. 
Some of the chief ornaments of Roman literature flour- 
ished in his own day, but he shone as brightly as any. 
Lucretius. Two Romau poets, Lucretius and Ca-tul'lus, belong to 



Republican Literature 419 

his time. Lucretius is famous for his philosophical 
poem ''On the Nature of Things," dealing with the origin 
and history of the world and man, on the principles of 
the Epicurean philosophy (§ 324). Not only is its in- 
sight into truth remarkable, but the poetical power dis- 
played is rich and strong. Catullus was a lyric poet CatuUus. 
who died at thirty, but left behind him poems whose lines 
are so delicate, original and touching, as to rank him 
among the greatest lyrists of the world. Supreme in ckero. 
the realm of prose was Cicero (§ 470), who sprang into 
fame as an orator by his prosecution of Verres, the cor- 
rupt Roman governor of Sicily, and advanced it by a long 
series of legal and political speeches like those against 
Catiline (§ 471). In another sphere, that of political, 
literary and philosophical treatises, he wrote works such 
as those On Oratory, On the State, On the Nature of God, 
On Old Age. These masterpieces are not only notable 
for their ideas, they are most significant in their marvellous 
mastery of the Latin tongue, the majestic roll of their 
sentences, the music of their phrases, the strength and 
variety of their vocabulary. He made Latin the vehicle 
of expression for the widest and highest thought, the 
medium of utterance for generations of scholars and 
thinkers to come. Among such men Caesar was also 
famous. As an orator, there were those who placed him 
on a level with Cicero. But the world knows him best 
in literature by his unrivalled narratives of his cam- 
paigns. His Commentaries, notes or jottings on the Caesar 
Gallic War and the Civil War, are expressed in terse, writer, 
vivid, clear Latin, "the model and despair of later his- 
torians." The only man of the time who approached Saiiust. 
him was Sallust, one of his younger contemporaries and 



420 Decli7ie of the Republic 

a trusted officer, whose model for historical writing was 
Thucydides (§227). His chief work was his History 
of his own times from the death of Sulla. Only a few 
fragments of it remain, but two brief treatises, one on the 
war with Jugurtha and the other on the conspiracy of 
Catiline, have survived. They show considerable lit- 
erary power if not an admirable sense for historic truth. 
Lesser lights of the time were Cornelius Nepos, the biog- 
rapher, and Varro, the learned antiquarian, whose trea- 
tises on old Roman life and manners, though preserved 
in fragments, have been of great value to modern stu- 
dents. 

480. Caesar's Supreme Genius Analyzed. — Yet, as 
soldier and statesman, Caesar stands pre-eminent. He 
possessed four gifts to an extraordinary degree, (i) 
Quickness of insight and an almost preternatural ability 
to choose the right course to success. (2) A breadth of 
view which saw things in their widest issues and could 
devise measures on a scale proportionate to the problem 
to be solved. (3) Immense capacity for toil. (4) Mar- 
vellous power to draw men to himself, to fire them with 
his own enthusiasm and to set them at work. Any one 
of these gifts makes a strong man; all of them combined 
made Caesar the foremost man of his time and one of the 
few greatest men of all times. His only parallel in the 
The Results aucicnt world is Alexander of Macedon. His untimely 
Murden'^ death, like that of his Greek predecessor, changed the 
whole course of history; for, whereas, Alexander had 
planned to add the west to his great empire, Caesar, in 
the year of his murder, was about to start on a campaign 
to add the far east to the Mediterranean world, from 
which it had drawn apart, under Parthian rule, during 



Effects of Murder of Coenar ^'it\ 

the decay of the Seleucid empire in the second century 
B.C. The chance to unite the whole world in one state 
never recurred. Moreover, Caesar's idea of a despotic 
government, and of the degradation of Italy and the 
Italians to be, like the provincials, his subjects, was not 
ripe for execution in his time. Certainly, it was not 
ripe for execution by any one but himself; and since 
his successor, as we shall see, turned deliberately away 
from absolutism and sought to preserve intact the im- 
perial position of Italy, Caesar's career forms but a brill- 
iant episode in a development which continued on its 
course to issue in the principate of Augustus. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what were the following im- 
portant: Drusus, Jugurtha, Sertorius, Luca, the Rubicon, 
Lucretius? 2. What is meant by triumvirate, Italica, Agra- 
rian law, ma jus imperium, populares? 3. Who were the 
two leading Scipios and how did they receive their names of 
Africanus and ^Emilianus? 4. Trace the careers of the follow- 
ing men through the period : Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Cicero, 
Caesar. 5. What was the the date of Caesar's death? 6. What 
was the spirit of Tiberius Gracchus's reform measures? 7. 
How did Gains Gracchus play the game of politics? 8. How 
were the senate and office of tribune affected by Sulla's legis- 
lation? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the parties at Rome in 
origin, aims and character with those at Athens in the fifth 
century (§§ 16S, 189, 218, 223, 239, 243). 2. With what Greek 
statesman and soldier would you compare Sulla (see Plutarch's 
choice) ? 3. In Plates XVIII and XXX compare the heads of 
Alexander and Caesar and draw some conclusions. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Land Law of Tiberius 
Gracchus. How and Leigh, pp. 337-344. 2. Gains Gracchus's 
Measures and Their Fate. HowandLeigh, pp. 346-356, 358-360. 
3. The Numidian War. How and Leigh, pp. 360-371. 4. 
Military Reforms of Marius. How and Leigh, pp. 378-3S0. 
5. The Social War. How and Leigh, ch. 39. 6. The Constitu- 



422 Decline of the Republic 

tion of Sulla. How and Leigh, ch. 44. 7. Pompey in the East. 
How and Leigh, ch. 46. 8. Conspiracy of Catiline. How and 
Leigh, ch. 47. 9. Caesar in Gaul, How and Leigh, ch. 49. 10. 
The Legislation of Caesar. How and Leigh, ch. 52. 11. The 
Food, Clothing and Employment of the Poor. Fowler, Social 
Life at Rome, pp. 33-59. 12. The Roman Business Man. 
Fowler, pp. 69-90. 13, The Roman Matrons. Fowler, pp. 143- 
156. 14. The Economic Aspect of Slavery. Fowler, pp. 213- 
222. 15. Cicero's Country Homes. Fowler, pp. 251-262. 16. 
A Letter of an Undergraduate in the University of Athens. 
Fowler, pp. 199-203. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Roman 

Constitution by the Year 133 b.c. Munro, pp. 47-52 (source); 
Morton, ch. 19. 2. The Gracchi and Their Times. Plutarch, 
Lives of the Gracchi; Morey, ch. 19; Seignobos, ch. 13; Botsford, 
pp. 151-160; Shuckburgh, ch. 35. 3. The Politics of the Gracchi. 
Abbott, pp. 94-98. 4. The Times of Marius and Sulla. Morey, 
ch. 20; Seignobos, ch. 14; Botsford, pp. 160-174. 5. TheNumidian 
War. Myres, pp. 360-368. 6. The Cimbri and Teutones. 
Myres, pp. 368-372; Horton, ch. 23. 7. Military Reforms of 
Marius. Myres, 378-380. 8. The Social War. Shuckburgh, 
pp. 589-592. 9. The Constitution of Sulla. Morey, pp. 176- 
179; Abbott, pp. 104-107; Myres, ch. 35. 10. Times of Pompey 
and Caesar. Morey, ch. 21; Botsford, pp. 175-196. 11. Pompey 
in the East. Shuckburgh, ch. 42. 12. Conspiracy of Catiline. 
13. Caesar in Gaul. Shuckburgh, ch. 44. 14. Caesar, Pompey 
and the Senate. Abbott, pp. 129-138; Horton, ch. 30; Morey, 
pp. 197-200. 15, The Legislation of Caesar. Abbott, pp. 114- 
116: Myres, ch. 41. 16. Roman Literature of This Period. 
Laing (quotations and biographies), pp. 63-197; Mackail, pp. 39-88. 
17. The Effect of Lucullus's Eastern Campaign upon Financial 
Conditions in Italy. Ferrero, vol. I, pp. 200-224. 18. The First 
Triumvirate, a Three-Headed Monster. Ferrero, vol. I, pp. 
324-336. 19. How Caesar became a Demagogue. Ferrero, vol. 
I, pp. 250-265. 20. Lucullus in the East. Hehland, vol. Ill, 
pp. 9-10, 13-14, 30-41. 21. Caesar's Last Ambition. Ferrero, 
vol. II, pp. 282-302. 22. Jugurtha's Claim to the Numidian 
Crown. Greenidge, vol. I, pp. 321-344. 23. Jugurtha's Visit to 
Rome: Its Significance. Greenidge, vol. I, pp. 346-353. 24. 
Jugurtha's Capture Closes the War. Greenidge, vol. I. pp. 
465-472. 25. The Trials of Verres and Flaccus. Heitland, 
vol. Ill, pp. 18-21, 141-144. 



General Review 423 



GENERAL REVIEW OF PART III, DIVISIONS 1-6 

1200(?)-44 B.C. 

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION, i. An outline of the main 
points of Roman history in chronological order from the point 
of view of Rome's relation to outside peoples. 2. A similar 
outline from the point of view of Rome's inner life. 3. The 
peoples that contributed to Rome's greatness, arranged chron- 
ologically with examples (§§ 344, 346, 348, 364, 370-372, 403, 
437, 441, 445, 449). 4. The most important dates in Roman 
history to 44 b.c. 5. The changes appearing in Rome's attitude 
toward outside peoples (§§ 354, 355, 372, 377, 399, 427, 431, 434, 
466, 478). 6. Roman farming and the farmer — as illustrating 
the history (§§347, 357> 359, 3^6, 379, 387, 403. 418, 437> 44©, 
458). 7. Development of the Roman army (§§ 350, 362, 385). 
8. A list of the great men of Rome in the different periods of 
her history to 44 b.c. 9. Roman citizenship in the various 
periods of Roman history (§§ 371, 381, 447, 450, 456, 460). 10. 
An enumeration of the influences and tendencies that from the 
beginning of the state led up to Caesar's supremacy (§§ 419, 
423, 424, 435, 451, 452, 456, 459, 466, 469)- II- The history of 
the influence of commerce on Roman history (§§ 339, 344, 372, 
377, 399, 423, 434, 439, 45°, 455, 457, 459, 461, 464, 468). 

MAP AND PICTURE EXERCISES, i. Prepare a map of repub- 
lican Rome to accompany paper No. 3 below. 2. Compare 
the oriental heads in Plate II with the heads of Caesar and 
Cicero in Plate XXX. 3. In the same way compare the two 
Roman heads with the Greek heads in Plate XVIII. 4. Make 
a plan of the Roman Forum and use it to illustrate Plate XXIX. 
5. Prepare a map of the Mediterranean world to show — by 
different colored pencils or inks — the expansion of Rome in 
each of the three periods to 44 b.c. 6. On Plate XXVIII study 
the Roman coins of this age and compare them with the Greek 
coins of Plate XXVII. (See Appendix II.) 

SUBJECTS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS, i. The Roman Magis- 
trate — ^His Position, Powers and Duties. Abbott, pp. 150-173. 

2. The -lEdile — His Powers and Duties. Abbott, pp. 202-206. 

3. The City of Rome down to 44 b.c. Merivale, ch. 78. 4. The 
Roman Senate — its Position, Powers and Duties. Abbott, pp. 
220-243; Fowler, City State, ch, 8. 5. Rome's Treatment of 



424 



Main Epochs of Empire 



Spain as Illustrative of Its Dealing with Conquered Peoples. 

How and Leigh, pp. 240-245, 464-466; Shuckburgh, pp. 458- 
463, 538-545. 6. Roman Slavery as Testified to by the Ro- 
mans Themselves. Sources in Munro, pp. 179-192. 7. The 
Carthaginian Empire. Mommsen, History of Rome, vol. H, bk. 
3, ch. I. 8. Roman Roads. Dictionaries of Antiquities, articles 
"Via" or "Roads"; Guhl and Koner, pp. 341-344; Johnston, pp. 
282-287. 9' The Story of Terence's " Phormio" as Illustrative 
of Roman Comedy. Laing, pp. 4-62. 10. How was Justice 
Administered at Rome? Abbott (§§ 65, 87, 96, 100, 182, 189, 
200-203, 222, 236, 251, 309). II. Some Roman Traditional 
Stories : (a) The Secessions of the Plebeians, {b) The Caudine 
Forks. Munro, pp. 74-77. (c) Cincinnatus. Botsford, Story 
of Rome; Yonge, Stories of Roman History; Church, Stories from 
Livy. 12. An Estimate of Caesar Written by Pompey. 13. The 
Roman Equites (Knights) — History and Privileges. Diction- 
aries of Antiquities, under the name; Greenidge, "Roman Public 
Life," index under name. 14. The Financial Administration of 
the State. Abbott (§§ 184, 213, 239, 280; Greenidge, pp. 229-232, 
286-287). 15- " We ought to be thankful to Caesar every 
day that we live." Justify this remark. 



The 

Problem 
and Its 
Solution. 



Divisions 
of the 
Period. 



481. Preliminary Survey. — The era of expansion be- 
ginning with 264 B.C. had put Rome in possession of the 
countries where the main current of historic life had 
hitherto run its course. A world-empire had arisen, 
stretching from the Euphrates to the Atlantic. The 
problem, again thrown into the arena by Caesar's mur- 
der, was the administration of that empire; the course 
of the following epochs of ancient history is the solution 
of that problem — the government of the Roman world. 

Thus the history of the period falls into three main 
epochs. 

7. The Roman Empire (Principate), 44 b.c.-a.d. 284. 

8. The Roman Empire (Despotism), a.d. 284-395. 

9. The Breaking up of the Roman Empire and the 

End of the Ancient Period, a.d. 395-800. 



Flight of Assasshis 425 



BIBLIOGRAPHY * 

For bibliography for advanced students and teachers, see Appendix I. 

Dill. Roman Society from Nero lo Marcus Aurelius. Macmillan. A 
masterly work. In general suitable only for teachers, but a few 
passages, judiciously selected, may be helpful for pupils also. 

Bury. The Student's Roman Empire; to the Death of Marcus A urelius. 
American Book Co. Full of matter, well written, an invaluable work of 
reference, rather too detailed for continuous reading by the beginner. 

Gibbon. The Student's Gibbon. American Book Co. This well-known 
abridgment of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 
should be constantly in the hands of the student for the period 
with which it deals. 

Jones, H. S. The Roman Empire. Putnams. Brilliantly written, up to 
date and reliable. The best single-volume history from Augustus 
to Augustulus. 

Merivale. General History of Rome to 476 a.d. American Book Co. 
Merivale becomes especially useful in the imperial period; his narra- 
tive is full and clear, though the organization of his material is 
defective. 

Tucker. Life in the Roman World of Nero and St. Paul. Macmillan. 
Interesting and reliable. 



7.— THE ROMAN EMPIRE (PRINCIPATE) 

44 B.C. -A.D. 284 • 

482. After Caesar — What? — The thirteen years (44-31 
B.C.) that followed Ceesar's murder were filled with tur- 
mail and struggle. Those who hoped that the senate 
would resume control of the government were soon un- 
deceived. Antony, consul at the time of Caesar's death, Antony, 
came forward as his successor, and Brutus and Cassius, 
placing no reliance upon the fickle populace of Rome, 
and finding no enthusiasm for their act in Italy, fled to 
the east, to provinces assigned to them by their victim, 
Cicero started to follow at their heels, but plucking up 

* For previous bibliographies, see §§ 5a, Sga, 33Sa. 



426 The Principate 

courage, he returned to Rome; and, taking advantage of 
a dissension, which split for a time the followers of Cae- 
sar, he roused the senate to action and tried to guide 

Octavius. events on lines favorable to republicanism. This brief 
restoration of senatorial power was due to the appearance 
of Octavius, the grandnephew and heir of Caesar,* a 
youth who, though but eighteen years of age, showed un- 
common prudence and energy. Since Antony declined 
to recognize his rights, he won over many of Caesar's 
veterans by a free use of money, which his friends and 
relatives provided, and by proclaiming his purpose to be 
to avenge the murder of the great leader. At the same 
time, he did not hesitate to co-operate with the senate 
in its struggle with Antony. Cicero thought he could 
use "the boy" for his own purposes and then throw him 
aside. He was terribly mistaken. Once the unnatural 
partners had defeated Antony in a war at Mu-ti'na and 
Octavius had shown that he could not be ignored, these 
two united with themselves Lepidus, whom Caesar had 
appointed to the province of Transalpine Gaul, a man 
of little force or insight. Supported by the legions, 

The Second they Compelled the senate to appoint them a triumvirate 

vir'atT." ^^^ settling the affairs of the state (43 B.C.). Acting in 
this capacity, they avenged themselves on their enemies 
in Rome and filled the city with blood. Their most 
illustrious victim was Cicero, whose brilliant orations f 
against Antony in the senate, a few months before, had 

Phiiippi. aroused his hatred. At the battle of Phi-lip'pi (42 B.C.) 
they overthrew the armies which Brutus and Cassius 

* As adopted son of Cassar his name was C. Julius Caesar Octavianus. 
t These orations were called Philippics in recollection of Demosthe- 
nes' speeches against Philip (§276). 



Anto7iy and Octavius 427 

had gathered in the east. Then Antony and Octavius 
set about their task of settling affairs, Antony taking the 
east and Octavius the west. Antony failed to manage 
his share of the empire successfully; he became entan- 
gled with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and let matters go 
at loose ends. Moreover, he quarrelled with Octavius, 
who in the meantime had restored order in Italy, taken 
the province of Sicily and the rule of the sea from the 
pirate king, Sextus Pompeius, Pompey's son, shelved Le- 
pidus, found his great general, A-grip'pa, and his great 
diplomat and councillor, Mse-ce'nas, and, in a word, by 
his shrewd sense and statesman-like conduct won the 
good-will of all the best Roman citizens. Thus accom- Actium. 
panied, the one by failure, the other by success, the two 
met in battle at Actium (31 B.C.), where Antony was 
beaten. Octavius alone remained at the head of the state. 

In the agony of the struggle at Actium, Cleopatra, who had com- Cleopatra, 
mand of the Egyptian squadron of Antony's fleet, raised sail and 
made off for Egypt. She had bound Antony to herself, as earlier 
Julius Caesar, in order to save her kingdom from Roman attack and, 
maybe, to become queen of the whole world. Now that she foresaw 
the destruction of her lover, she wished to save herself and her country, 
if possible, from participatmg in his fate. What she had not cal- 
culated on was the blind devotion of Antony, who, leaving his fleet 
and army commanded ess, sailed away to Egypt with her. Never- 
theless, Cleopatra did not despair of getting rid of Antony and gaining 
the support of the young man who now could deal with Egypt as he 
pleased. She entered into an intrigue with Octavius as he drew near 
her country, and carried her treachery so far that, having entered into 
a pact with her lover to commit suicide together, she issued a false 
report of her death. Antony at once killed himself. Then the 
hitherto invincible queen tried her seductions on Octavius, but one 
glimpse of the cold blue eye and the passionlessly polite mien of the 
victor told her that she had met her match. Rather than be carried 



428 The Principate 

to Rome to grace the triumph of Octavius, she took her own life. 
Thus perished the last of a long line of Egyptian queens — the last of 
the Ptolemies. Egypt became part of the Roman empire. 

483. The Problem of Octavius. — The questions that 
had faced Caesar now confronted Octavius — how should 
the state be reorganized, and what place should he occupy 
in it? For answering these questions he possessed little 
of the genius of his uncle, that far-seeing eye, that quick 
grasp of all the elements in the situation, that daring 
and enthusiastic spirit which did not shrink from doing 
in its own way whatever was to be done. Yet Octavius 
had what was, perhaps, for his time, a better equipment — 
caution and coolness, attachment to the past, love of 
peace and order, an iron will which, however, was ready 
to use the most available means to gain its way. With 
these qualities he could not follow Caesar's path — break 
with the past, gather all powers into his own hand and 
rule the state as supreme magistrate. Had not that 
path led to assassination ? He proposed to restore the old 
order and adjust his own position and power to it. 
Senate, magistrates and people should play their part as 
before in the conduct of the state. On him should be 
conferred extraordinary powers for the special tasks of 
administration which so sorely needed attention in the 
vast domains of the imperial state. 

484. Augustus, 27 B.C. -14 A.D. — In the year 27 B.C. 
the arrangement went into force. "I transferred the 
state," he says, "from my power to the control of the 
senate and people." He was already consul; now he was 
given by them the proconsular imperium for ten years and 
the sacred title of Augustus. With this dual power went 
supreme authority over all provincial governors and sole 



Prince: President 429 

* 

rule over certain provinces on the frontiers where armies 
were needed; he was therefore master of the legions. 
Over these provinces he placed lieutenants (legati) re- 
sponsible to himself. The other provinces were ruled xhePro- 
by proconsuls and propraetors appointed by the senate.* imped^ 



um 



Principate. 



He already possessed the tribunician power and for some f,"!* ^^^ . 

•' '■ ■ ^ _ Tribunician 

years continued to be elected consul. But, as it was not Power, 
constitutional to be consul and proconsul at the same 
time, he laid down the consulship in 23 B.C., although re- 
taining the rank and power, preferring to take part in 
civil affairs by virtue of his tribunician authority. To rep- The 
resent his place in the state in all its aspects he chose the 
title of princeps or "First Citizen," whence this form of 
government is called the Principate. Later he was also 
honored with the title of pater patricE, "Father of his 
country." From time to time his proconsular power was 
renewed, as the term for which it was assigned expired; 
the tribunician power only he held for life. The people 
elected magistrates and made laws; the senate adminis- 
tered the state through him and other officials appointed 
by it. Thus Augustus proudly declared that he had re- The 
stored the republic. His conduct was in accordance with Restored, 
his word. In the city he wore the toga of a citizen and 
lived in his simple home on the Palatine, wearing the 
clothes woven by the women of his family. No escort ac- 
companied him about the streets except such as became 
a magistrate, and every citizen could consult him without 

* The place of Egypt in this arrangement was peculiar. It was 
assigned as a province to neither, but was regarded as a kind of private 
possession of Augustus. No senator was permitted to enter it. The 
reason for this was, no doubt, the monarchical sentiment of the people 
and the immense importance of Egypt to Rome because of its corn- 
supply. 



430 



The Principate 



Italy the 
Centre. 



The 
Freedmen. 



The 
Provinces. 



ceremony. His position was, in fact, much nearer that of 
Pompey in 52 B.C. than that of Caesar in 45 B.C. It should 
be observed that Pompey, too, had been called princeps. 

485. The Good Results. — The advantages of this ar- 
rangement were clear and its beneficial results im- 
mediate. A sense of security and satisfaction was felt 
everywhere. Now, at last, peace under constitutional 
government was obtained. A proper method of reor- 
ganizing the state and meeting the difficulties of admin- 
istration was reached. The evils of the time were met 
with strong remedies. 

486. The Empire Organized. — The empire was set in 
order. Here the central thought of Augustus was that 
the heart of the empire was Italy, from the Alps to Sicily. 
Over against Italy and dependent upon it were the 
provinces. It was the "sacred land." Its economic 
prosperity revived; waste lands were peopled and brought 
under cultivation; disorder was put down; the munici- 
palities were given free scope to organize and govern 
themselves; public roads were repaired. The dignity 
of Italian citizenship was emphasized. Even the freed- 
men were given a place in the public life by the institu- 
tion of the Augustales, a body of men, appointed in each 
community, who at their own expense attended to the 
worship of Augustus. To be an Augustal was regarded 
as a notable distinction by the freedmen, but not by free 
citizens who could not worship the princeps without ad- 
mitting their political inferiority. Italy, thus set apart 
from the rest of the state, as the model and glory of the 
empire, was governed by the senate. The provinces 
were dealt with in the same thorough way. Those which 
were under the direct rule of Augustus were managed 



The Provinces 431 

by his legates and procurators,* men selected because they 
were efficient administrators. They were dependent on Officials, 
him for advancement and honor; hence they sought by 
good work to obtain his favor. The borders of the em- 
pire were protected and the internal affairs of the prov- 
inces v/ere regulated. An imperial coinage, guaranteed 
by the state as pure, was put into circulation. The army, Army. 
which in the civil wars had reached the enormous size 
of more than fifty legions, was reduced to twenty-five, or 
one hundred and fifty thousand men. It was kept on 
the frontiers constantly under arms, trained and pre- 
pared for defence. It was under the direct command 
of Augustus. After a victory the soldiers hailed, not 
their own general, as formerly, but Augustus, as im- 
perator. Only Roman citizens could serve in the legions. 
In addition provincials were employed as auxiliaries to the 
number of not more than one hundred and fifty thousand. 
Each legion had its particular name and usually its perma- 
nent quarters in a special province. By virtue of being 
commander-in-chief, Augustus, like other generals, had 
his body-guard (the cohors prcetoria) ; as he lived at Rome, 
his guard was stationed in the city; it was the "praetorian 
cohort," and under its two prefects or commanders had 
niuch influence in the state. The finances of the prov- Finances, 
inces were established on a firm basis. All the income 
from the provinces under Augustus came into his treasury, 
called the Fiscus,^ and he had sole power over its man- 

* The procurators were fiscal agents who took the place of many of 
the piiblkani. 

t The word means "basket"; in Roman households the money-box 
was a basket. It is also claimed that the Fiscus dates from the time of 
Claudius. In any case, Augustus controlled the revenues which arose 
from his own provinces. 



432 The Principate 

agement. Hence, there was no more stealing of public 
money by officials. A map of the empire was prepared, 
showing the chief towns and roads of every province; a 
census was taken of the greater provinces, perhaps of 
all. The farming of taxes with all its abominations was 
greatly restricted. The land lax and the poll tax, the 
two direct taxes levied, were collected by the state; the 
"publican" (§423) still dealt in the customs and other 
like imposts. Thus a business administration was es- 
tablished which saved money and gave the state abundant 
revenues. Augustus spent this money freely on imperial 
roads and buildings throughout the empire. By these 
means he created new bonds of unity which held the 
Roman world together as never before and brought about 
the extension of Roman civilization from end to end of it. 
We can hardly conceive the immense advantage to the 
provinces of this stable and beneficent government. 

487. Foreign Policy. — The policy of Augustus with 
respect to the peoples outside the Roman world was in 

The East, general a very prudent one. In the east he had no desire 
to follow up the project of Julius Caesar for a war with 
Parthia. He was content by skilful negotiation to ob- 
tain the return of the battle-flags lost by Crassus (§ 454) 
and to increase by peaceful ways the influence of Rome 

The West, bcyoud the Euphrates. In the west and south he devoted 
himself rather to reorganization than to expansion. 
Spain was subdivided into three provinces and com- 
pletely brought under Roman control. A large number 
of new colonies was planted in it and every encourage- 
ment given for the development of urban (municipal) life. 
In fact, Augustus wished to Latinize Spain and Africa, 
and provide for their local administration, in precisely 



Municipalities 433 

the same way and by precisely the same methods as 
those followed by Alexander the Great and the Scleucids 
in Hellenizing Asia (§§ 299, 319, 435). The two districts 
were to become eventually a honeycomb of municipalities, 
each with a territory definitely marked off for it and 
divided into individual holdings by the land surveyors for 
whom Rome was so famous. The lands between the mu- 
nicipal territories were to be waste or forest lands (saltus) 
or belong to the public domain. They were a burden and 
a source of revenue to the central government. In the 
years to come some of Rome's greatest citizens had their 
homes in these western lands. 

In the case of Gaul, outside the old province of Narbo, quite a Gaul and 
different form of organization was adopted. The whole area was, Egypt Ex- 
indeed, divided into three provinces, Lugdunensis, Aquitania and "P*'°°^ 
Belgica, but unity was preserved in that the revenues were collected 
from all alike by oiBcials attached to the Rhine army and in that dele- 
gates from all met at Lyons to offer worship on the altar of Roma et 
Augustus. By this act they acknowledged their fealty to the two 
powers now existent in Italy (dyarchy). They did not control their 
own tax payments because Augustus neither permitted the founda- 
tion of new colonies nor encouraged the growth of municipalities in 
Gaul. He divided the whole district once for all into sixty-six com- 
munities {civitates) so that no land was available for colonies; witlvn 
the communities cantons (pagi) were recognized, and also villages 
(vici) but the latter lacked anything like a general assembly, senators 
(decuriones) or magistrates (duoviri) such as were found in the 
municipalities. They were governed from above by officials of 
the community or canton chosen from the Celtic nobility. Self- 
government was thus denied to the people in Gaul as it was denied 
to the people in Egypt; and, indeed, the organizations of these two 
provinces have many points of similarity (§311). 

On the north the problem was first of all a military The North, 
problem. The dangers from the restless Teutonic peo- 



434 The Principate 

pies made necessary an advance into this region until a 
defensible frontier should be reached and the nations 
bordering on it brought under Roman influence. The 
natural boundary in the northeast was the Danube; 
thither Augustus pushed forward his line. Four new 
provinces were formed: Moesia, Pannonia, Noricum and 
Rhgetia, extending from the Black sea to the sources of 
the Danube. Connecting with these on the north and 
northwest the shortest boundary would be made by the 
Elbe. Augustus advanced across the Rhine to establish 
his frontiers on that river. By these means it was felt 
that the most dangerous border of the Roman world 
would be safely guarded. 

488. The Imperialism of Augustus. — Within the 
frontier thus defined lay the Roman world; beyond — to 
the ends of the earth, to the points reached in the vision 
of Alexander and Caesar, Augustus did not venture 
The fact was that he lacked both the will and the power 
for further conquest and accordingly stayed the restless 
advance of Rome to universal dominion. He was no 
soldier or general and had no passion for adventure. His 
was the purely intellectual type which lacked physical 
not moral courage. Besides, his scheme of government 
placed the burden of imperialism squarely on the shoul- 
A Limit Set dcrs of Italy. From it he demanded one hundred and 
Expansi^on ^^^^ thousaud men for military service, or one-tenth of its 
entire male population of military age. He could not 
demand more — the drain on economic activity was almost 
intolerable as it was. Nor could he venture to raise more 
than another one hundred and fifty thousand in the 
provinces without bringing the supremacy of the Italians 
into peril. With three hundred thousand men, however, 




THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

IN THE 
TIME OF AUGUSTUS. 

10 200 300 400 50 

Scale of Miles. 



li»S"\';".jaft Bniiinlnrie» of Roman Empire at death of Julius Caetsr. 
dZZH^ Territory added by Aueustu^ 
I I Slnten allied to Rome. 



Zi Senatorial. Provinces. 



2o' LoiiKitiirte EHst 30" rrom (ireumviili ho" 



E ^ 




-^'J^- '^^-t^^^. 



MYSIA', \ ...Ti IMI"^ '^1f 



'RHODES 



8 B \A 



PLATE XXXI 




From the Villa Medici and Terme 




Terra Mater in the Ufifizi 



RELIEFS FROM THE ARA PACTS AUGUSTS— ART OF THE 
AUGUSTAN AGE 



Codsar Wo7\ship 435 

he found it impossible to do more than protect defensible 
frontiers and preserve internal peace. 

489. The Worship of the Emperor. — Among the Italians Augustus 
fostered an aristocracy of senators and knights, the senate being 
its head. To this the whole administration of the central govern- 
ment of the empire belonged, and of it he was one, its princeps, to 
be sure. To the Italians belonged the subject world which the 
aristocracy held and governed primarily for their advantage. Of 
old the sheep had been flayed; now they were to be merely shorn. 
Over the subject world there was established a dyarchy or joint rule 
of the republic and the princeps. These two authorities divided 
between them the provinces,. the revenues, jurisdiction, administra- 
tion. Their power was absolute. That is to say, they were superior Legalizing 
to the local officials in Gaul and Egypt, to the city-states in the Greek Absolutism, 
half and to the municipalities in the Latin half of the ISIediterranean 
world. Yet these lesser authorities, being in theory independent, 
could not accept orders from foreigners without humiliation. Nor 
did they need to. 

As we have already seen, the Greeks had for generations been in the 
habit of enrolling their rulers among their deities, and long before the 
time of Augustus they had accepted as peculiarly their monitor in 
political affairs a goddess of their own creation — Roma (§ 43 5) . Now 
Augustus was put by her side, and before the death of the first 
princeps every province in the empire had its temple or altar to Roma 
et Augustus. Naturally, Romans could not worship these deities, 
for to do so meant to become their subjects. Hence, in Rome an 
altar of the "Augustan Peace" — one of the most notable artistic 
monuments of his age — was erected, no altar or temple of Augustus 
himself; hence, too, only freedmen, whom Augustus disfranchised 
in Rome and in the Roman municipalities, could enter into the 
body of the Augustales who had charge of the worship of Augustus 
and his successors in these places. Thus the bond which linked the 
government of the Italians to the provinces was one of religion. 
Caesar-worship, as it is called, took its place among the recognized 
religious cults of the time as a natural testimony to the divine char- 
acter of the new Roman state, which rose high above all other powers, 
the symbol of universal order and peace. 



436 



The Principate 



490. Social Life Reformed. — Augustus had clear no- 
tions of the spirit which should inspire the state. He 
proposed to revive the old Roman ideals. The simple 
life of duty to the gods and service to the state was again 
to be supreme in Roman society. He encouraged mar- 
riage and the rearing of children; divorce, which had 
grown so alarmingly common, and other forms of im- 
morality, that were destroying the purity of private life 
at Rome, were sternly repressed. The different orders 
of society were clearly marked off and fitting tasks were 
assigned to each. The senatorial order was purged of 
unworthy members and set at its task of governing its 
share of the state. From it he chose officials for all the 
highest positions in the army and in his provinces. The 
equestrian order he also controlled and reorganized, and 
from it he chose the great body of his financial officials. 
As possessed of tribunician power, he guided and curbed 
the Roman populace, but he had no sympathy for its 
pretensions, and after some fruitless attempts to make it 
less of a mob by giving new powers to its ward officials 
and by arranging for the casting of votes in the munici- 
palities of Italy, he decided to give it as little occasion for 
assembling as possible and advised Tiberius to deprive 
it of the electoral power altogether. For Augustus the 
republic meant the senate, not the comitia. Perhaps his 
supreme passion was the restoration of the old Roman 
religion. Ancient temples were rebuilt and the venerable 
worship was revived in stately splendor. In 12 B.C. he 
became Pontifex Maximus, the head of the Roman 
church. New and rich endowments were provided for 
the priestly colleges. The worship of the Lares (§ 347), 
which, above all else, was typical of the old faith, and 



The Augustari Age 437 

which appealed particularly to the freedmen and slaves, 
who had little interest in the greater national deities, was 
revived. Three hundred of their shrines were raised 
along the streets of the city and twice a year they were 
adorned with flowers. In each was a pair of little images 
— the dancing and drinking Lares — and between them 
was set the representative of the genius, or immortal 
part of Augustus. Thus were the masses taught to 
reverence the princeps. By all this he sought to show • 
that it was the ancient gods who had raised him to power 
and had brought peace, order and prosperity to the world. 
His plans largely succeeded. Religion, as the old Roman 
conceived it, in its best sense, lived again. The altars 
smoked anew with sacrifices. 

491. Literature Revives. — Corresponding to the glad 
sense of order and peace, literature and art took on new 
life. One of the world's greatest poets, Publius Ver- vergii. 
gilius Maro (70-19 B.C.), adorned the Augustan age. 
His poems, the "Eclogues" picturing pastoral life, the 
" Georgics", in praise of agriculture, and his chief work, 
the "iEneid", an epic which glorifies the beginnings of 
Rome, are all full of the spirit and ideals that inspired 
Augustus. The religion that made Rome great, the sturdy 
faith and stalwart patriotism that filled her sons with 
might — these he hallowed in melodious verse and touching 
pictures, which gave him wondrous popularity then and 
have made his name immortal in the world of poetry. 
His conception of the world-wide mission of Rome, her 
imperial destiny and the certainty of its success in the 
hands of Augustus, contributed mightily to the strength 
of the new regime. He was worthily seconded by the Livy. 
historian, Titus Livius (59 b.c.-a.d. 17), who used all 



438 The Principate 

materials which had come down to him from the past to 
write his Roman History in one hundred and forty-two 
books, from Rome's beginning to 9 B.C. He idealized the 
old days and found consolation for the evils of the present 
only in a return to the sobriety, fidelity and heroism of the 
past. The legends of early Rome he retells without criti- 
cism of their truth, and throws a halo of splendor over the 
days of the republic. With strong imagination and ro- 
mantic temper he pictures the noble men and stirring 
scenes of early times. His style is full and flowing, and he 
is possessed of a fine literary art which expresses itself in 
the picturesque grouping of his intensely human charac- 
ters. Unfortunately, only a small part of his great work 
has been preserved. Another literary leader was Quintus 
Horatius Flaccus (65-8 B.C.), the son of a freedman. 
In his Satires he plays upon the social and literary 
follies of the Rome of his day; his Epodes are even more 
satirical; he reaches the height of his genius in the Odes 
and Epistles. A genial critic of life who sees its weak- 
nesses yet loves it, with few ambitions beyond a glowing 
fireside, a good wine and a sympathetic friend, a lover of 
nature who was at the same time a man of the world, he 
had the unique power of putting his thoughts into precise, 
telling phrases and of fitting them into lyrical verse of 
charming delicacy and force. Vergil, Livy, Horace — 
these three have given an enduring fame to the Augustan 
age, of which they are, each in his own way, the char- 
acteristic products. 

492. Revival of Art. — Monuments in bronze and 
marble attested the revival of art in this time. Augus- 
tus himself added to the old Forum a new one and 
built, among other temples, that of Apollo on the Pala- 



Tlie Augustan Age 439 

tine, of marble without, and filled with statues. From 
him also came the theatre of Marcellus with a seating 
capacity of twenty thousand persons. Others vied with 
him in adorning the city. Agrippa, his most trusted 
officer, built the Pantheon, the temple of Poseidon and 
magnificent public baths. It is said that Augustus de- 
clared with pride : "I received a city of brick; I leave a 
city of marble." A stately list of the edifices built or 
restored by Augustus forms a part of the record of his 
achievements — the Monumentum Ancyranum ("Deeds 
of Augustus") — which he left at his death, and which is 
one of our chief sources for his reign. 

493. The Culmination. — To show that an old age had The 
come to an end — a century of vast disorder in the state ^^"="'^^ 

y Games. 

and of ever-present fear for life and property to the in- 
dividual — and that a new era, one of peace and order, had 
opened, Augustus chose the celebration of the Ludi 
ScEculares, a festival which was observed every hundred 
years. This, the fifth time of its observance, in the year 
17 B.C., was one of singular splendor. For it Horace 
wrote a hymn, the Carmen Sceculare. 

494. The Birth of Jesus. — Amid all the splendors of 
the Augustan age a child was born in one of the most in- 
significant provinces of the empire whose sway was to 
surpass in power and extent the wildest dreams of the 
Ccesars. In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, vassal of a New Era. 
Augustus, Jesus Christ * was born in Bethlehem of 
Judaea. We do not know the year. It was four or five 

years before the date traditionally assigned. Yet our 

* "Christ" is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "Messiah," 
the "anointed" (king) whom the Jews expected to appear as their de- 
liverer- 



440 



The Principate 



chronology turns upon it, for the years of the world's his- 
tory are numbered according as they precede the assigned 
year of his birth or follow it.* Jesus was the founder of 
Christianity, the religion which was to play a large part 
in the history of the Roman empire and is professed by 
the so-called Christian nations of Europe and America. 
495. The Shadows in the Scene. Moral Corruption. — 
But there was another side to all the grandeur of the 
Augustan age. The people of the city of Rome had too 
long been a prey to moral corruption to be reformed 
by example and precept. Unbounded luxury and gilded 
vice continued to be fearfully rampant among the higher 
classes. Even Julia, the daughter of Augustus, created 
scandal by her loose behavior. The lower classes still 
clamored for free bread and games. To them Augustus 
had to yield in part, and his doles to them and the shows 
he exhibited before them surpassed even those of his 
predecessors. Over against the fine spirit and high ideals 
of a Vergil must be placed the example and popularity of 
other poets of the time, among whom the most prominent 
was Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as Ovid (43 
B.c.-A.D. 18). He was not untouched by the nobler 
memories and hopes of his time, as his Fasti show — a 
gathering up of the ancient Roman religious customs ar- 
ranged according to the religious calendar. But his 
Met-a-mor' pho-ses, a collection of myths of transforma- 
tion, his Art of Love, his Love Stories and other poeti- 
cal trifles, reveal the gay and profligate character of the 
society of which he was the pride and ornament. Pos- 
sessed of a vivid, brilliant and graceful poetic gift, a born 

* That is, B.C., "before Christ," and a.d., anno Domini, "the year 
of the Lord." Christ was crucified in the reign of Tiberius. 



Incompetence of the Senate 441 

story-teller, he used his powers for frivolous and un- 
worthy ends. Banished to Pontus by Augustus because 
of his intrigues, he exhibits in his Tristia the baseness 
of his spirit by his fawning praise of the princeps who 
had justly condemned him. 

496. Administrative Difficulties. — Augustus's scheme 
of government did not work altogether as was expected. 
The balance of power between the senate and himself Growth of 
steadily swung toward his side. The senate showed in- p^n^eps. 
competence in the sphere of administration assigned to it, 
and he was compelled to take more and more of its proper 
activities upon himself. In Rome, for example, he took 
charge of the supply of corn and its distribution to the poor 
and also of the water supply. The police and firemen 
were also under prefects appointed by him. In Italy 
and the senatorial provinces he had large powers. All 
the military forces throughout the empire were under 
his orders. Sometimes he was compelled to undertake 
the financial reorganization of a province which had 
gone bankrupt under senatorial administration. Thus it 
gradually became clear how difficult it was to conduct 
affairs on this division of powers. No wonder that those 
who had hailed him as the restorer of the republic began to 
question whether he had not become its master. The 
nobles murmured. At least three conspiracies were Conspira- 
formed against him; though they failed, the motive which *^'^^' 
inspired them was obvious. That Augustus was able to 
hold his position for so many years, without falling a vic- 
tim to the spirit that had killed Julius, is a testimony to 
his prudence and vigilance. He was fortunate, also, in His coun- 
having two wise counsellors, Maecenas and Agrippa. ^* °"' 
Maecenas was a diplomatist of uncommon tact and wis- 



442 The Pinncipate 

dom; at the same time he was a man of the v/orld, enor- 
mously rich, a patron of art and hterature. Agrippa was 
the man of action as well as of counsel. He won the 
battle of Actium for Augustus and was intrusted by the 
princeps with the direction of every critical piece of work 
in military or civil affairs. Both died before their mas- 
ter, and he was wont to say during the later and darker 
days of his reign: "This would not have happened had 
Maecenas or Agrippa been alive." 

497. The Disaster of Varus. — For darker days did 
come as the long years of Augustus drew to their close. 
A severe blow was struck at his military prestige, when 
Varus, the incompetent commander of the legions on the 
northern frontier, was slain and his army cut to pieces in 
the Teutoberg forest by the Germans under Arminius 

The (a.d. g). Augustus decided that it was impossible to 

Spl™d."^ keep the frontier at the Elbe and withdrew his forces to 

the Rhine. He enjoined this policy of cautious defence 

of the borders upon his successors. 

498. Augustus the Only Successful Princeps. — The 
state of Augustus did not come into existence at one 
stroke. To conceive grandly and execute promptly was 
not his way. His motto was "hasten slowly" (festina 
lente), and all his life he kept adding and subtracting — 
building a new order round his own personality. Augustus 
and his state became, in fact, a unity, and that was the 
tragedy of the principate. None but a man of Augustus's 
temperament could make a successful princeps: he must 
be zealous, yet careless of the appearance of power; he 
must guide and direct, yet observe all forms scrupu- 
lously — was he not simply the first citizen, entitled to influ- 
ence, of course, but not to command ? He must keep the 



The Succession 443 

army in the background and yet dominate it beyond fear 
of rivalry; he must be able to mingle freely in the society 
of the nobles as one of themselves, yet surpass all in per- 
sonal dignity. Around Augustus himself the institutions 
of state were moulded. Where could another Augustus 
be found to take his place? 

499. Problem of the Succession.— The vv^eakest point 
in the arrangement between Augustus and the senate con- 
cerned the imperial succession. If he had received his 
appointment as princeps from the senate and people, then 
they could appoint as his successor whomsoever they 
might choose. As his was an extraordinary office, they 
might decide not to continue it after his death. But, in 
fact, Augustus was determined not only that the princeps 
should remain, but that the one whom he should point 
out should succeed him. But how should this successor 
be indicated? Augustus decided to associate with him- The De- 
self this destined successor during his lifetime in such a 
way as to make his purpose clear. Whom, then, should, 
he thus designate? He himself had married twice; his ms Family, 
first wife bore him a daughter, Julia, whom he married to 
his friend and counsellor, Agrippa. Two promising sons 
of this marriage died before their grandfather. The 
third son was an impossible candidate. Agrippa, his 
son-in-law, was at one time thought of as the chosen suc- 
cessor, but he, too, passed away in the lifetime of Augus- 
tus. Augustus's second wife, Livia, had been divorced 
from her former husband after she had borne him two 
sons, Tiberius and Drusus. Drusus died before Augus- 
tus. Tiberius alone remained. Though Augustus dis- Choice of 
liked him, he was a capable, vigorous man and the choice 
was narrowed to him. In a.d. 4 Augustus adopted him 



vice of 
Augustus. 



Tiberius. 



444 The Principate 

as his son, and bestowed upon him the imperium for ten 
years and the power of the tribunate; in a.d. 13 he re- 
newed the command and defined it as equal to his own. 
Thus there could be no doubt whom the princeps desired 
to follow him. Having gone thus far, he could not vent- 
Death of ure farther. The next year he himself died at the age 
Augustus, ^f seventy-five years. 

We are told that in the hour of death he called for a looking-glass 
and bade them arrange his hair and his beard. He asked his friends 
whether he had played well the "farce" of life. Then, alone with 
his own family, he asked after the health of a little child of the family 
who was ill, then suddenly kissed his wife Livia and expired quietly, 
breathing out the last words, "Livia, 'live mindful of our union; 
farewell." 

500. The Achievement of Augustus. — The nearly half 
a century during which Augustus had conducted the plan 
of administration devised by himself had established 
it as an abiding work. Herein is his glory, that he 
founded a new and permanent government for the shat- 
tered Roman state. He had done what Julius had failed 
to do. Order, peace, prosperity, permanence — these 
things he restored to the Roman world. Defective and 
illogical as his scheme may have been in some points, it 
was thoroughly timely and practical. It saved Rome from 
going to pieces; it formed a working basis for unity and 
progress; it preserved Roman civilization for centuries 
and gave it the opportunity to expand to the ends of the 
earth. For these blessings, the results of which we enjoy, 
we are indebted to Augustus Cagsar. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following famous: 
Agrippa, Antony, Livy, Varus, Maecenas, Vergil, Livia? 2. 
What is meant by princeps, Fiscus, Augustales, Ludi Saecu- 



The Julio -Claudian Line 445 

lares, Praetorian Cohort, Pontifex Maximus? 3. What is the 
date of the battle of Actium, of the death of Augustus, of the 
birth of Jesus? 4. What burdens did the imperialism of 
Augustus inflict upon Italy? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. What ideas of the divinity of man 
had appeared in the eastern world which resembled Caesar- 
worship? 2. Compare the differing conditions in which Vergil 
and Homer (§§ 104-111) lived as illustrating the differences 
in their poetry. 3. Compare the political position and ideas 
of Augustus with those of Alexander (§§ 282, 290, 292, 294, 
297-300). 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Foundations Laid by 
Augustus for a New Rome. Jones, pp. 3-12, 40-41. 2. The 
Military System Reconstructed. Jones, pp. 12-18. 3. Augus- 
tus's Settlement of the Eastern Question. Jones, pp. 21-24, 38. 
4. The Disappointments of Augustus's Private Life. Jones, 
pp. 19-21, 25-26, 30-33. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Period 

of the Second Triumvirate. Morey, pp. 203-212; Shuck- 
burgh, ch. 46. 2. ThePrincipate. Munro, pp. 143-148 (sources); 
Abbott, pp. 266-273; Myres, pp. 545-549; Seignobos, pp. 266- 
268; Merivale, ch. 51. 3. The Provinces in the Scheme of 
Augustus. Moray, pp. 220-224; Abbott, pp. 283-285; Merivale, 
pp. 409-410; Myres, pp. 553-555. 4. The Foreign Policy of 
Augustus. Myres, pp. 544-553; Abbott, p. 282. 5. The Charac- 
ter of Augustus. Botsford, p. 218; Morey, pp. 228-229; Horton, 
pp. 316-318. 6. Roman Literature of the Augustan Age. Laing, 
pp. 198-386 (biographies and quotations); Mackail, pp. 91-168. 
7. Social and Financial Rome in the Last Century B.C. Fer- 
rero, vol. II, pp. 42-54. 8. The Corn Trade of the Ancient 
World. Ferrero, pp. 321-325. 9. The Death of an Aristoc- 
racy. Ferrero, vol. Ill, pp. 215-226, 229-238. 10. New 
Revenues and Expenditures in Augustus's Reign. Ferrero, vol. 
IV, pp. 159-165. II. The Vit9.1 Elements of Augustus's Policy. 
Ferrero, vol. V, pp. 348-351. 

501. The Successors of Augustus — the Julian Line. — 

Tiberius succeeded his stepfather without opposition. 
He was the first of four members of the house of Ceesar 
to occupy the position of princeps. These were: 



446 



The Principate 



Germani- 
cus. 



Tiberius (stepson of Augustus), a.d. 14-37. 
Gaius, surnamed Ca-lig'u-la (great-grandson of Augustus and 
grand-nephew of Tiberius), a.d. 37-41. 

Claudius (uncle of Gaius and nephew of Tiberius), a.d. 41-54. 
Nero (nephew of Gaius and stepson of Claudius), a.d. 54-68. 

502. Tiberius, A.D. 14-37. — Tiberius had force of 
character and genuine ability, but he came to his position 
when fifty-five years of age, and the weight of administra- 
tion hung heavy upon him. His originally sensitive 
temperament had been rendered gloomy and suspicious 
by bitter experience; now placed at the head of the state, 
he lapsed into injustice and cruelty when opposed by the 
senatorial nobility. At the death of Augustus the legions 
on the Rhine and the Danube rose in revolt hoping to 
extort booty, lands and other concessions from the new 
ruler. The Rhenish legions offered to support the nephew 
of Tiberius, Germanicus, in a contest for the position of 
princeps. It was a trying time for the newly established 
principate. The maintenance of imperial authority was 
due largely to the loyalty of Germanicus, who diverted 
the thoughts of the legions from treason by a military 
campaign across the Rhine in which the Germans were 
punished for the defeat of Varus. Following the cautious 
policy of Augustus, Tiberius did not try to hold any terri- 
tory overrun by Germanicus beyond the Rhine. In the 
east the Parthians required a display of Roman arms, 
and here Germanicus was sent by Tiberius, but his un- 
timely death ended a career full of promise. Tiberius 
restrained the wealthy, who longed to regain their old 
liberty of plundering the provinces, thereby earning the 
gratitude of the subject world. He rebuilt twelve cities 
of Asia Minor that had, been destroyed by an earth- 



The Julio- Claudian Line 447 

quake. He was loyal to the principles of Augustus and 
he even outdid his model in repressing the populace, one 
of his acts being to transfer to the senate its right of elect- 
ing magistrates. He established the preetorian guard 
permanently within the city. The law of treason together Law of 
with the tribuniciary sanctity of the prince permitted al- ^'■^^^°° 
most any act or word to be construed as lese-majesty 
(treasonable). Taking advantage of this opening and of Delators 
the peculiar temperament of Tiberius, a crop of de-la'tors 
(delatores) sprang up who prosecuted with indiscriminate 
zeal good and bad alike. In Tiberius's old age he fell Sejanus. 
under the influence of a brilliant but unscrupulous favor- 
ite, Se-ja'nus, the praetorian prefect (§ 486). Weary of his 
social and imperial burden, the old emperor retired for 
repose to the island of Capri, where he performed only 
the necessary duties of his position, leaving the conduct of 
affairs to Sejanus. The latter had already the substance 
of imperial power, but he wished to have the visible form 
also. Hence by base deception and intrigue he got the 
natural heirs of Tiberius put out of the way one after 
another and eventually formed a conspiracy against the 
prince himself. Its detection led the unfortunate old man 
to suspect the loyalty of everybody. Prosecutions thick- 
ened. Trials for treason multiplied among the nobility, 
and amid a reign of terror Tiberius died at the age of 
seventy-eight. 

503. Caligula, A.D. 37-41. — Gaius, as a youth, was a 
universal favorite. The soldiers on the frontier, among 
whom a part of his childhood was spent, idolized him.* 
His elevation to the principate, at twenty-four years of 

* They called him Caligula, "little boots," because of the soldier's 
boots which he wore while amono; them as a child. 



448 The Principate 

age, was followed by a series of acts which promised well. 
But hardly a year had passed when he entered upon a 
course of life unparalleled for extravagance and brutality. 
The riches which the frugal Tiberius had gathered were 
dissipated in costly games and wild vice. He heaped con- 
tempt on the institutions and representatives of the re- 
public. He proposed to make his horse consul. He de- 
manded worship as a god. It is charity to assume that a 
sudden illness which fell upon him early in his career had 
left him a madman. A conspiracy in his palace brought 
him to his death, and Rome drew a long breath of relief. 
504. Claudius, A.D. 41-54. — Up to the time of his be- 
coming princeps, Claudius was known as a timid, in- 
capable pedant. He was found cowering in the imperial 
palace by the praetorian guards who had just slain his 
freakish nephew, and, with the tardy assent of the senate, 
he was thrust into the highest position in the state at the 
age of fifty-one. None the less, he showed surprisingly 
excellent administrative qualities. He still pursued his 
antiquarian researches, made tedious speeches and wrote 
tiresome books. His weakness of character made him as 
he grew older a prey to designing women and intriguing 
servants. The government was really in the hands of a 
trumvirate of freedmen, Pallas, Narcissus and Polybius, 
able but conscienceless men, who not only managed the 
emperor, but also filled the imperial service with men of 
their own class. Freedmen, not senators, were thus run- 
ning the empire under Claudius. To their influence we 
may attribute the startling liberality of the prince in ex- 
tending the franchise to Celtic nobles in Gaul, and perhaps 
also his abandonment of the foreign policy of Augustus. 
For Claudius made a notable addition to the empire by 



The Julio -Claudian Line 449 

annexing Britain in 43 B.C. From that time the island, Annexa- 
tion of 
Britain. 



though not entirely subjugated, began to come under the ''°° °^ 



direct influence of Roman civilization. The same ruler 
enlarged the empire in Africa, where he formed two new 
provinces. Dependent kingdoms like Thrace and Judaea 
were turned over to procurators who ruled them as agents 
of the Fiscus. The freedmen were thus imperialists, but 
Italy was not neglected during their regime; the Fucine 
lake was drained; a harbor for Rome was artificially 
constructed at Ostia; two new aqueducts, one the famous 
Claudian, carried pure water into the heart of the great 
city. Claudius's ambitious wife, his niece A-grip-pi'na, 
succeeded in having her own son Nero designated for the 
succession, whereupon the death of the emperor occurred 
and it was whispered that he died by poisoning. 

505. Nero, A.D. 54-68. — All men hoped the best things The Reign 
from Nero. He was fond of art and literature and had prindpied" 
imbibed a taste of wisdom from his tutor Seneca, the Mettante. 
philosopher. The latter, with Burrus, the praetorian 
prefect, guided the first activities of the new ruler, who 
was a mere youth seventeen years old. His mother, a 
capable, imperious woman, had a strong influence over 
him. But the quartette fell out one with another. Nero 
was encouraged to emancipate himself from his mother's 
authority, and plunged into wild excesses, while his able 
ministers conducted public affairs successfully. But 
soon his frivolous, brutal temper, thus roused, played 
havoc on every side. His mother was murdered. Seneca 
was condemned and committed suicide. Nero gave him- 
self loose rein. He posed as a poet and public singer. 
Extravagant revels and unending shows wasted the im- 
perial treasures; abominable vices and unspeakable 



450 The Principate 

cruelties disgraced the court. So low had he fallen in 
public esteem that a frightful conflagration, which de- 
stroyed the greater part of Rome, was laid at his door. 
Patience was at last exhausted, the legions in the prov- 
inces rebelled and Nero fled to die at length by his own 
hand. His last words were: "That such an artist as I 
should perish!" 

506. The Principate as Tyranny. — During these years 
the position of the princeps changed. The balance in 
his favor over against the senate was complete. His 
powers were, it is true, voted to him by the senate and 
people, but he had made sure of the position before 
election. Hereditary descent was recognized as giving a 
claim to it. The principate, therefore, in theory and 
form constitutional, was, in fact, a tyranny. The pos- 
session of military power was decisive; the princeps was 
first of all imperator — and emperor* we shall henceforth 
call him. The senate was little more than his tool. Its 
fear of him was intensified by his assuming the right 
to accuse anyone of treason; an accusation meant con- 
demnation and was followed by immediate execution at 
the hands of the soldiery. By this means many of the 
leading men of Rome were put to death. Yet a section 
of the proud and independent nobility, though silenced, 
was not subdued. They knew their rights and steadily 
opposed the tyranny. The emperor, in turn, knew that 
constitutionally he was dependent upon the senate, and 
did not dare go so far as to destroy it and rule alone. 
As a result, he looked for support to the weapons of his 
praetorian guard. Such an ally was dangerous; it might 
in time become the master. 

* Emperor is only the English form of imperator. 



The Flavian Line 451 

507. Political Progress. — The growth of the princeps' 
power was an advantage to the empire as a whole. His 
imperial administration came to be better organized. 
The emperor's helpers were now to be found in every 
department and district of the empire. Every great Freedmen 
noble had freedmen to manage his private affairs, write '° ^®"' 
his correspondence and keep his accounts. But the em- 
peror's accounts and correspondence were those of an 
empire, and the men who attended to these became of 

great importance to the state. Under this improved Prosperity, 
public service the prosperity of the provinces advanced. 
The unifying of the empire by a common government and 
by the spread of commerce and culture went on rapidly. 
The personal character of the emperors and their doings 
at Rome, whether good or bad, did not affect the well- 
ordered system. Egypt, for example, was never so pros- 
perous as under Nero. The same progress is found in The 
relation to the frontier. In general the cautious policy '■°°''"- 
of Augustus was followed (§§ 487, 488). Military roads 
and fortifications strengthened the Rhine frontier. 

508. The Flavian Caesars. — The revolt of the legions, The One 
before which Nero took his own life and thus left the prin- i^o^gYear. 
cipate vacant, was followed by a brief period of anarchy 

(a.d. 68-69), ^1^ which four generals, Galba, Otho, Vitel- 
lius and Ves-pa'sian,.were proclaimed imperators by their 
troops and each was recognized by the senate. In the 
struggle that followed, Vespasian came out victor. He 
and his two sons who followed him constitute the house 
of the Flavian Caesars. They reigned as follows: 

Vespasian, a.d. 69-79. 
Titus, a.d. 79-81. 
domitiax, a.d. 81-96. 



452 The Principate 

509. Vespasian, A.D. 69-79. — Vespasian was an ex- 
perienced commander and administrator. He was of 
humble origin, the son of a Sabine centurion and money- 
lender. He brought to the principate shrewd common- 
sense and practical ability, coupled with unpolished man- 
ners and provincial speech, which were a stock subject of 
ridicule with the Roman nobles. But he knew how to 
rule wisely and well, joining firmness with justice and 
forbearance toward his enemies, and restoring the shat- 
tered finances of the state by such careful economies that 
he was thought stingy and sordid. He appreciated the 
dignity of his office and was worthy of it. When at the 
age of seventy years the pains of death came upon him, 
he struggled to his feet declaring that the emperor should 
die standing. 

510. Titus, A.D. 79-81 — The early life of his son 
Titus led men to expect in him a second Nero. They 
were happily disappointed. He, like his father, sought 
to live up to his high position; he abandoned his vices 
and boon companions. To his enemies he was splen- 
didly gracious; to the people lavishly generous. He 
thought that day lost in which he had not given some- 
thing away. "The darling of humanity" is the descrip- 
tive phrase of a later historian. The terrible eruption of 
Vesuvius, which destroyed Pompeii and Her-cu-la'ne-um 
(a.d. 79), a disastrous fire at Rome, a wasting pestilence 
which devastated Italy, gave him unequalled opportuni- 
ties for exercising his benevolence, and he was not found 
wanting. It has been questioned whether in time the 
vexatious problems of imperial rule would not have 
changed him for the worse. As it was, after scarcely two 
years of power, he died, loved and mourned by all. 



The Flavian Line 453 

511. Domitian, A.D. 81-96. — His younger brother, Do- 
MiTiAN, was a passionate, ambitious character who, held 
back by his father and brother during their lifetime, was 
all the more eager to rule. People called him a "bald- 
headed Nero," but if, like that ruler, he was corrupt and 
vicious in his private life, as an administrator he was able 
and successful. In many respects he resembled Tiberius, 
whom he took as his model. His haughty air and lordly 
bearing made enemies for him among the nobility, and 
their renewed hostility turned him into a suspicious and 
cruel tyrant. He perished by the daggers of his attend- 
ants after a reign of fifteen years. 

512. Political Progress. — Two important political 
changes date from the Flavian emperors, (i) They 
made much of the office of censor, by which they had 
large power over the senate. Domitian held it for life. 

By virtue of this censorial authority Vespasian enlarged Reorgan- 
the senatorial order (§ 490), which had become thinned Jhe se°nate. 
out by civil war and executions. He chose new senators 
from the most honorable citizens throughout Italy and 
the empire. Thus to the old republican nobility, which 
had practically died out during the persecutions of the 
Julio-Claudian time, was added a new official aristocracy 
created by the emperor and friendly to him. (2) Ves- The 
pasian met the problem of the succession by emphasiz- S"'="^^'°°- 
ing the hereditary right of his oldest son to follow him. 
In the same way Titus made his nearest of kin, his brother 
Domitian, a colleague. The name Caesar was taken as an 
imperial title, as though these emperors were descended 
from Augustus. The result of all these measures was to 
raise the dignity and mark the supremacy of the princeps. 
The senate had less and less importance; the people none. 



454 



The Prmcipate 



513. Imperial Advance. — Apart from the reorganiza- 
tion of the finances of the state and the restoration of 
order and peace b}^ these emperors, three imperial tasks 
call for special mention, (i) The province of Judaea 
(§ 472) broke out in a fierce rebellion in a.d. 66. Ves- 
pasian had been sent against the rebels, and it was while 
he was fighting there that his legions proclaimed him 
emperor. When he went to Rome he left the conduct 
of the war to Titus. Among the Jews there were many 
who preferred Roman rule, but a body of violent fanatics 
gained the upper hand, destroyed the Roman garrison in 
Jerusalem and slaughtered right and left. Finally, Titus 
shut up the rebels in Jerusalem, For five awful months 
the Romans besieged and assaulted the city, until at last 
the rebels held only the Temple hill. The whole was 
finally taken by assault and burned to the ground (a.d. 
70). (2) Under the reign of Domitian the empire was 
extended in the west and north of Britain. The legions 
were under the command of an able general, A-gric'o-la, 
who advanced into Scotland. His fleet also circum- 
navigated the island. (3) On the German frontier 
Rome advanced across the upper Rhine and a fortified 
wall more than a hundred miles in length was begun, to 
connect the upper waters of the Rhine and the Danube. 
Behind this rampart lay a strip of land called the Agri 
Decumates, which was thus added to the empire. It was 
in no sense a change in the defensive policy of Augustus, 
but a measure of protection for Roman colonists and a 
stronger means of defence against the Germans. 



REVIEW EXERCISES, i. Name the emperors of this century 
in chronological order. 2. What is meant by Agri Decumates, 
praetorian prefect, the title Caesar? 3. For what are the fol- 



PLATE XXXII 




Spoils of the Jewish War 



RELIEF FROM THE ARCH OF TITUS IN ROME 



Review 455 

lowing famous : Seneca, Sejanus, Jerusalem, Pompeii, Agri- 
cola ? 4. What is the date of the annexation of Britain, of the 
fall of Jerusalem? 5. Had Tiberius a definite administrative 
policy? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the policy of the Flavian 
Caesars regarding the problem of the succession with that of 
Augustus. 2. As far as good government goes, how does the 
first century a.d. of Roman rule compare with the first cen- 
tury B.C.? 3. What was the difference between the demands 
made upon an emperor by the city of Rome and by the prov- 
inces? Could they be reconciled? 4. "I wish that the Roman 
people had but one neck, that I might strike it off with one 
blow." " I wish to govern the state not as my property, but 
that of my people." Show how both these sayings are char- 
acteristic of a Roman emperor. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Difficulties of Tiberius. 

(a) Military. Jones, pp. 44-49; (b) The Control of Sejanus. 
Jones, pp. 49-52. 2. Claudius's Influence on the History of 
the Empire. Jones, pp. 61-64. 3- The Contradictions in 
Nero's Reign. Jones, pp. 69-83. 4. The Flavians' Conduct 
of Roman Affairs, (a) Business Administration. Jones, pp. 
115-118. {b) The Extension and Strengthening of the Frontiers. 
Jones, pp. 119-124, 139-145. (c) The Building in the City. 
Jones, pp. 127, 130, 132. {d) A General Estimate of the Flavians. 
Jones, p. 148. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Problem 

of Tiberius. Munro, pp. 149-152 (source); Merivale, pp. 430- 
436; Abbott, pp. 288-289; Bury, pp. 189-195, 209-213. 2. Life 
and Character of Sejanus. Merivale, pp. 438-442. 3. Internal 
Politics under the Julian Caesars. Abbott, ch. 13. 4. Imperial 
Politics under the Julian Caesars. Morey, ch. 24; Merivale, pp. 
430-478; Bury, pp. 166-187, 206-209, 238-245, 258-270, 305-321. 
5. The Burning of Rome under Nero. Laing, pp. 424-431 
(source); Bury, pp. 285-288. 6. The Flavian Caesars — Their 
Personality and Achievement. Merivale, pp. 501-513; Abbott, 
ch. 14; Bury, ch. 21. 7. The Jewish War. Merivale, pp. 495- 
500; Bury, pp. 366-373. 8. The Destruction of Pompeii and 
Herculaneum. Laing, pp. 455-460 (source). 

• 514. Social Progress. — The century of imperial Rome 
closing with the death of Domitian presents a brilliant 



456 



The Principate 



and instructive picture, when viewed from the side of 
social hfe. In studying it, we must observe, however, 
that our information comes chiefly from the capital. 
Rome was the centre of literature, and its life is reflected 
in the writings which have come down to us. Italy and 
the provinces contributed but little to the picture, and 
what little comes from them reveals, in many respects, 
a notable difference in the purity and simplicity of their 
life and manners from those that prevailed in the great 
city. 

515. Social Classes, — In social classes and their re- 
lations the old Roman distinctions (§ 490), emphasized 
by Augustus, grew more rigid. At the summit stood the 
princeps and the senatorial order. The rulers that fol- 
lowed Augustus imitated him in the formal rejection 
of special titles and in not encouraging an elaborate court 
etiquette. Yet little by little, with increasing powers, 
they assumed greater state. A court grew up; " friends" 
of the emperor paid him formal visits every day; his 
house became a palace,* and was filled with servants and 
courtiers. A similar stateliness appears in the house- 
holds of the senatorial nobility. Immensely rich and 
standing next to the emperor, they kept up splendid es- 
tablishments. A curious feature is the system of clients. 
The old Roman client (§ 342) became a mere courtier 
and parasite. Every morning he visited his noble patron 
to pay his respects. If a poet, he recited his verses; if a 
wit, he amused the great man by jests; if a common man, 
he followed in his train when the senator went out on| 
the street. For these services all expected rewards, 

* Our word "palace" comes from Palatium, the Palatine Hill, wherej 
the emperor dwelt. 



Classes of Society 457 

food or money or patronage of some sort. Beneath the Knights, 
senatorial was the equestrian order (knights), whose 
members were immersed in business or official duties. 
They, too, were men of great wealth. Next came the Lower 
mass of ordinary citizens, divided into a middle class, ^^^' 
doubtless respectable and well-to-do, but of whom we 
know little, and the lowest classes, who were restless and 
wretchedly poor, dependent on state doles for food and 
on the public shows for amusement. Then there were 
the freedmen, who were often wealthy and influential by 
reason of their positions as confidential servants in the 
imperial administration, and great houses, or because 
of their business activities. The various foreigners from 
the provinces formed another body, a crowd of Egyptians, 
Syrians, Jews and others, who had sought the capital for 
the opportunities afforded by it of making an easy living. 
Beneath all was the enormous body of slaves who per- 
formed all sorts of tasks in the household, the manufac- 
tories and the mines, on the streets and the farms. A 
Roman house could not be managed without slaves. In 
the great mansions they performed all sorts of services for 
the members of the household. Their duties were care- 
fully specialized; besides a slave to keep the door, or a 
slave to call the name of the guest, the noble sometimes 
had a special slave to put on his sandals and a special 
slave to fold his clothes. 

516. Occupations. — In considering the occupations of 
the period we observe that some activities which hitherto 
were thought unworthy have risen into favor. Such 
were teaching and medicine. Citizens became wealthy 
and distinguished as physicians. An income of ten 
thousand dollars a year was obtained by one famous 



458 The Principate 

specialist. Other Romans trained themselves as teach- 
ers of rhetoric and philosophy and gained large fees. 
We hear of successful booksellers. The law became a 
most important profession. The immense extension 
of Roman business and political interests gave a rich 
field for the lawyer. To win this case he must be a good 
speaker, and Roman legal oratory was famous the world 
over. 

The increase of Roman wealth and the expansion of 
the Roman horizon resulted in the improvement of the 
art of living. This is seen in studying {a) the house, {b) 
food and dress, (c) the amusements of Rome. 

517. The House. — The simple one-room house of old 
Rome (§ 389) had grown into an extensive and magnifi- 
cent mansion. The improvements of the later day 
(§ 441) were carried further. The height of splendor 
was reached in the famous palace of Nero, the " Golden 
House," "the most stupendous dwelling-place ever built 
for mortal man." Country-houses were of great size 
and marvellously adorned. Ivory, marble, gems and 
gold were lavishly employed for decoration. Even a 
provincial town like Pompeii (pom-pa'e), could boast 
elegant private mansions. There the house of Pansa oc- 
cupied an entire square. It had more than sixty rooms 
on the ground floor, of which half, being on the street and 
separate from the interior, were rented for shops. Back 
of the peristyle (§ 441) were five great rooms opening on 
a long veranda which faced a garden covering a space one- 
third as large as the house. The most remarkable orna- 
mentation in houses of this age was the mosaic and fresco 
work. Statues, paintings and bric-a-brac abounded; the 
furniture was highly ornamental and costly. 




H 

H 

> 

M 

W 
H 

O 

M 

O 

a 
a 



Luxury 459 

518. Dress. — Little change is seen in Roman dress 
except in the costhness of the materials. The lacerna, or 
cloak, was often worn in addition to the toga. Garments 
of silk and linen began to appear. Extravagant display 
of jewels, a weakness of Roman women (§ 389), is char- 
acteristic. The popular gem was the pearl; strings of 
pearls of great size and purity were highly prized. Ca- 
ligula's wife had a set of pearls and emeralds valued at 
nearly two million dollars. The growing refinement of Food, 
taste in food and the lavish extravagance at banquets, al- 
ready referred to (§ 441), reached a great height. Rare 
and costly dainties were sought from the ends of the earth; 
dinners of twenty courses were given. Gluttony became 

an art and the Roman nobles were unrivalled masters in 
it. This wanton extravagance, however, testifies to a 
greater variety of food and a finer taste among all classes 
of society. Three courses, consisting of kid or chicken 
with eggs and asparagus and fruit, was probably an or- 
dinary bill of fare for a dinner among well-to-do people 
and indicated a variety and refinement in eating of which 
old Rome knew nothing. 

519. Amusements. — In a society of luxurious wealth 
and idle poverty amusements are a necessity, and the 
Romans never plunged so deeply into them as at this 

time. The number of holidays grew; there were eighty- Holidays, 
seven in a year under Tiberius. Two favorite holiday 
seasons were the Sat'ur-na'li-a, beginning December 17, 
and New Year's Day. The former was a season of 
riotous fun, when the ordinary conditions of life were re- 
versed. Slaves could do as they liked; crowds thronged 
the streets, laughing and feasting. New Year's Day was 
an official and religious holiday. Visits were exchanged 



460 



The Principate 



among friends. The emperor received the people in 
state. At both seasons gifts were made. All classes of 
the people were accustomed to give something to the 
emperor, and in return he made a splendid festival or 
reared statues and temples. But the chief centres of 
amusement remained, now as before, the amphitheatre, 
the circus and the theatre. The splendor of the shows 
and the races almost surpasses description, while the 
buildings in which they were held were of extraordinary 
number and size. Of amphitheatres the greatest was the 
Col-i-se'um at Rome, built by the Flavian emperors. It 
covered nearly six acres and accommodated eighty thou- 
sand spectators. Here were held the gladiatorial contests 
(§ 442), which had now become a favorite spectacle. 
More elaborate methods of fighting were introduced. 
The whole system occupied a recognized place in Roman 
life. All sorts of contests were held. Wild beasts were 
imported to fight with each other or with men. The 
arena was flooded and naval battles were fought. The 
shows were advertised, and the entire population of Rome, 
from emperor to slave, attended and enjoyed the scenes 
of blood. In the circus the races were almost equally 
popular. Here organization increased the interest; rival 
establishments were distinguished by their colors, the red, 
the white, the green, the blue. The populace, and even 
the emperors, took sides and great sums were wagered. 
Successful charioteers, although slaves or freedmen, and 
without social rank, became popular idols and gained im- 
mense wealth. An inscription in honor of one Crescens, 
who died at twenty-two, tells us that he won forty-seven 
races and received seventy-eight thousand dollars. The 
Circus Maximus was enlarged to accommodate the crowds 



THEM.N. WORKS 



i(\»" 



/ -*J^*, 



The City of 

ROME 

under the Empire. 



500 1000 



Scale of Feet. 

Baths 

Fora and Porticoes 

Circuses, Theatres etc 

Temples 

Imperial Palaces 

Aqueducts 



f^- 7* Gardens of '"'x^ 
' Maecenas 



"%ffitt^P'' _j| 



Baths of Diocletian. 
Baths of Constantlne. 
Baths of Titus. 
Baths of Caracalla. 
Baths of Agrippa. 
Baths of Nero. 
Colisseum. 
Cii-cus Maximus. 
Circus riaminius. 
Theatre of Mareellus. 
Theatre of Balbus. 
Stadium of Domitiaii. 
Odeum of Domjtian. 
Circus. 

Amphitheatre Castrense. 
House of Gaius. 
House of Tiberius. 
House of Augustus. 
House of Domitian. 
Pompey's Portico. 
Forum of Trajan. 
Forum of Augustus. 
Forum^of Vespasian. 
The Forum. 
Portico of Phillppl. 
Portico of Octavian. 
House of Vectillan. 
Temple of Venus and Rome. 
Temple of Jupiter 
Emporium. 

Mausoleum of Hadrian. 
CltadeL 



Theatre. 



Amusements 461 

that flocked to these races until it held four hundred 
thousand persons. The theatrical exhibitions were of a The 
low order; pantomime was the favorite form of acting, 
and the crowds that attended were amused by vulgar 
jests and debasing scenes. Another form of amusement The Bath. 
must be mentioned — the bath. Public bathing-houses, 
established at an earlier day (§ 441), became numerous 
and splendid. People bathed for pleasure several times 
a day. Bathers, for a fee of less than one penny, had 
entrance to what was practically a luxurious club-house. 
In connection with the bath proper were bowling-alleys 
and a gymnasium. Colonnades and resting and loung- 
ing rooms adorned with pictures, a restaurant, shops 
and a library completed the outfit of a first-class bathing 
establishment at Rome. Even a daily paper, published by 
the government, containing news of the city and official an- 
nouncements, was at the service of curious and idle readers. 

520. Amusements Outside Rome. — The Romans The spread 
carried with them these forms of pleasure all over the Giadia- 
world. In Africa, on the Danube and in the borders of *°"^i 

Games. 

the eastern desert the ruins of amphitheatres and baths 
may be seen to-day in the cities where the Romans ruled. 
In Pompeii, which was a small Italian town, there were 
three bathing establishments, two theatres, seating re- 
spectively 1,500 and 5,000 people, and an amphitheatre 
with a capacity of 20,000 persons. When we remember 
that these admirably built and decorated structures were 
for the use and enjoyment of the people at large, w^e may 
realize the place and influence of these amusements in 
the life of the Roman world. 

521. Art. — Turning to the higher life of the century 
we observe first the art and literature. At no previous 



462 



The Principate 



period in human history were these so widely diffused. 
Cities had their hbraries and their fine public buildings 
adorned with statues of the emperors and other distin- 
guished men of the past and present. The private houses, 
if we may judge from those of Pompeii, were beautified 
with mosaics and wall-paintings; artistic objects, large 
and small, abounded. Rich men were patrons of artists 
and writers, and could criticise their productions with 
taste and judgment. A marvellous number of good works 
of -art have come down to us from these times. Yet no- 
where is there evidence of originality or genius. The 
artists are imitators or copyists of the past. Yet the 
Roman portrait statues are notable artistic successes. It 
was characteristic of the Roman to wish to preserve por- 
traits of his ancestors (§ 392) and the noble art of sculpture 
gave him the opportunity to make these portraits endur- 
ing in marble and bronze. While seeking to portray his 
subjects to the life, the artist seems sometimes to have per- 
mitted himself to idealize them; a portion of the Greek 
grace and charm has been joined with the Roman vigor 
and literalness. The long series of the statues or busts 
of the emperors is the supreme illustration of this art. In 
the achievements of architecture and engineering the Ro- 
man shows his power. The massive buildings, the endur- 
ing roads, the extensive and graceful aqueducts, the ruins 
of which remain in all the lands that acknowledged the im- 
perial sway, these are the witnesses of that practical genius 
so truly characteristic of the Roman. That genius reached 
its height under the empire in such buildings as the Coli- 
seum, the palaces of the Caesars and the aqueducts of Rome. 
522. Literature.— The literature of the time, like the 
art, was widely distributed and highly finished, but it was 



The Silver Age 



463 



not genuine and powerful. Following the Augustan 
writers (§ 491) came a variety of authors of whom only 
a few strike high. It is remarkable, also, that they hail 
mostly from the provinces. To the period of the Julian Seneca. 
Cassars belongs Seneca, the minister of Nero, as its chief 

THEWOKiD 

Accordlns to 
Ptolemy 150 A.i>. 




literary star, (a.d. 4-65). He wrote essays and letters 

on morals in the spirit of the Stoic philosophy and in an 

ornate rhetorical style which is always clear and strong 

and sometimes eloquent. His tragedies, while attaining 

some fame, are less significant works. Another courtier Petronius. 

of Nero, who was also a writer, was Pe-tro'ni-us, who has 

the distinction in literary history of having written the 

first known novel. The fragments of it which have been 

preserved are witty and realistic. One of its characters. 

Tri-maFchi-o, a rich fool, has been the original of many 

similar personages in fiction. A richer literary life opens under the 

under the Flavian Caesars — a period which, in compari- c«J^° 

son with that of Augustus, has been called the Silver Age. 

Its chief poet was Statius (about a.d. 45-96), whose epic statius. 



464 



The Principate 



poem, the The-ba'is, centring about the mythical wars of 
Thebes, falls just short of greatness. Martial (43-101 
A.D.) wrote Epigrams, short stanzas, witty, stinging or 
complimentary, as desired by the patrons to whom he paid 
court. They present a vivid picture of Roman life in his 
day. Pliny (plin'I), the elder of the name, was the great 
scholar of the time (23-79 a.d.). He was an imperial offi- 
cial who, in the course of his duties, gathered a mass of 
information which he condensed into the most important 
of his works that has been preserved, the Natural History. 
He was a diligent student and careful observer. While his 
conclusions are valuable only as illustrating the ideas of 
his time, the facts he gathered are of the greatest interest' 
to all later students of the geography and history of the 
empire. Another learned prose writer was Quintilian, 
a distinguished teacher of rhetoric. He gathered the re- 
sults of his observation and study in a notable work on 
the Art and Science of Rhetoric, which formed for cen- 
turies the standard treatise on the subject. Two sub- 
jects treated in it still have living interest, a criticism of 
the great Greek and Roman writers of the past and a 
theory of how children should be educated. Such a work 
covered in reality the whole subject of education, since 
the method and subjects of that discipline were based 
upon what the ancients called rhetoric. To become a 
good speaker and writer, to argue your cause skilfully, 
or to express your thoughts with elegance and force — ■ 
this was the end of education. 

523. Morals — The Dark Side. — When looked at from 
the point of view of its moral and religious life, this cen- 
tury shows strange contradictions. It seems impossible 
to believe that a world which ran after amusements such 



Regeneration of Society 405 

as the brutal gladiatorial shows, or was wedded to such 
luxury and extravagance as we have described, could be 
moved by. serious things. Other sides of life disclose like 
dark pictures. The mad thirst for money led to all sorts 
of wickedness. The legacy-hunter who paid court to rich 
old bachelors in order to be remembered in their wills was 
a recognized character in society. Others did not hesi- 
tate to forge wills or to remove by poisoning those who 
stood in the way of their inheritance. Marriage was now 
a mere civil contract and the wife retained control of her 
property. Common and easy as divorce had become, 
marriage was, nevertheless, regarded as undesirable. A 
man who married, some thought, was out of his sober 
senses. He would be much more sought after in society 
if he remained single. 

524. Morals — The Brighter Side. — To offset this dark 
side, we need to remember that such scenes are found at 
Rome only and that they are characteristic of a society in 
which both the rich at the top and the poor at the bottom 
are idle — a perfectly unnatural state of things. In the 
provinces a healthy and sober life was the rule, and from 
them a stream of new strength was poured into the capital. 
Moreover, the worst phases of Roman life appeared under 
the Julian Cassars. In the time of the Flavians a much 
higher tone of morals is to be observed. In the first half 
of the century the Romans had gone crazy from excess of 
power and riches; in the latter half they came back to 
reason. 

525. Moral Philosophy. — The popularity of philoso- 
phy in Rome throws a brighter gleam over these times. 

The moral system of the Stoics was the favorite. When The stoics, 
we recall the principles of that school (j^ 324), wc cannot 



466 The Principate 

fail to see how they would fall in with the practical bent 
of the Roman mind. For the old Roman notion of do- 
ing one's duty to the state and the gods, the Stoic only 
substituted a larger obligation to the world, to nature. 
Virtue came to be a fad, and devotion to virtue even unto 
death an exquisite delight. Thus suicide was elevated 
into a sacred duty. The Stoic idea of the brotherhood 
of man had a softening influence upon the harsh treat- 
ment of the slave. "Treat slaves," says Seneca, "as in- 
feriors in social rank to whom you stand in the position 
of protector." The education of the poor was encouraged 
by free schools, such as Vespasian founded, and many 
rich men gave donations for free education to their native 
towns. Humane feeling was roused at the sight of suffer- 
ing, weakness and helplessness. The disasters and pes- 
tilences that afflicted parts of the empire gave occasion for 
social help and sympathy. Even kindness to animals 
was approved. Seneca protests against the cruelty of the 
amphitheatre. But his own actions illustrate the strange 
contradictions of his day. He preached virtue and en- 
couraged Nero in vice. He commended poverty and was 
worth millions. Many rich men flung themselves with 
equal zeal into the pleasures of life and the instructions of 
virtue. They employed philosophers to teach them the 
way of right living and received their teachings with en- 
thusiasm, but did not practise them. Yet, after all, the 
standards of morals and the ideals of life were sensibly 
lifted by the influence of philosophy. 

526. Religion. — The first century of the empire could 
hardly be said to be deeply religious. The vigorous at- 
tempt of Augustus to revive the old Roman faith resulted 
in little more than giving it an official and formal life. 



New Religions 467 

Not much genuine religious feeling was involved in the casar- 
worship of the Caesars, which Augustus had seen grow up ^g^^gio'^ed 
in the provinces, and from which Roma (§ 489) had gradu- 
ally been eliminated, but it continued to meet a popular 
need for the expression of gratitude, awe and satisfaction 
felt by high and low alike in view of the grandeur and 
the beneficence of the imperial organization. Assemblies 
were organized in the provinces for the purpose of carry- 
ing on this worship and holding a religious festival in 
honor of the emperor. Officials were elected to superin- 
tend the affair, and participation in the worship was re- 
garded not only as a privilege, but also as a sign of proper 
loyalty to the state. Oriental faiths, pre-eminently that Eastern 
of Isis, the Egyptian goddess, which had made its entrance 
into Rome from the Hellenistic world (§ 319) in the later 
Republican time, continued to be popular with the lower 
classes, who found cheer and inspiration for their wretched 
lives in the emotional appeal of the noisy and startling 
performances of such cults and in the promise of future 
happiness which they held out. 

527. Rise of Christianity. —Among these new religions 
from the east one which began to make its way in the 
Roman world of this age requires special consideration. 
Jesus, whose birth in Judaea has already been men- 
tioned (§ 494), began at the age of thirty to preach 
and teach in Palestine. He proclaimed himself the 
Mes-si'ah, or Christ, for whom the Jews were looking as 
a deliverer. But he taught a spiritual deliverance from 
sin as the highest good and would not lead a rebellion 
against Rome. The Jewish authorities denounced him TheCruci- 
before the Roman governor, Pilate, and he was crucified 
after having taught a little more than two years (a.d. 29). 



468 



The Principate 



Paul. 



The New 
Testament. 



Organiza- 
tion. 



But he left behind him a band of disciples who proclaimed 
that he had risen from the dead and thus had sealed the 
truth of his teaching. They, also, were bidden by him 
to preach the new doctrine of salvation from sin through 
the risen Christ to all who would hear, with the assurance 
that he would soon return to earth to rule as supreme 
lord. Among those who were gained for the cause was 
a Jew named Paul. He carried the name and doctrine 
of the Christ to non-Jews or Gentiles and gathered com- 
panies of believers in the cities of Asia Minor and Greece. 
These believers were first called Christians in Antioch. 
Soon assemblies, or churches, of Christians were founded 
in the west, at Rome and as far as Spain and Gaul. To 
many of these churches Paul, afterward executed by 
Nero, wrote letters explaining the doctrines of Christ as 
he understood them. Soon narratives of the life and 
work of Jesus were written down and sent about among 
the churches. Thus a book of Christian writings was 
begun, the book we call the New Testament. The or- 
ganization of these churches was very simple at first. 
Each church was a unit, its members managing its affairs 
and choosing officers to lead — deacons to minister to the 
poor, elders* to preside at its assemblies.! Admission 
to the circle was conditioned on confession of faith in 
Christ as Saviour and submission to the rite of baptism. 
At stated seasons the members met and partook of bread 
and wine in obedience to the command of Jesus at his 
Last Supper with his disciples. 

528. Opposition to Christianity. — ^The new brother- 
hood soon came under the notice of the imperial author- 

* These elders appear under two names, both Greek, presbyter, or 
priest, and episcopos, or bishop. 

f See for Hellenistic associations of the same general characte ■ § 319. 



Persecution of ChristiaiiH 469 

ities. Its secret meetings and ceremonies were suspected 
of evil designs, and the belief of its members in one God 
brought them into opposition to the worship of the em- 
perors. The first action against them was taken by 
Nero, not indeed as Christians, but as malefactors, upon 
whom he laid the charge of setting fire to Rome. At 
this time many of them were put to death with horrible 
tortures. They were later accused of evil practices and 
systematically punished. Gradually the refusal of the Persecu- 
Christians to join in the worship of the emperors came cu'iJyaity 
to be the chief ground of their punishment. They were 
regarded as disloyal to the empire and punished as trai- 
tors, for that was what refusal to worship Ceesar signi- 
fied (§§ 299, 435, 489). Thus Domitian is said to have 
persecuted them cruelly on this account. The empire, 
therefore, at the end of the first century regarded all 
Christians as worthy of death. In spite of this, the new 
religion spread widely, especially in Asia Minor, Greece 
and Egypt. The city of Rome possessed a flourishing 
church, and its adherents were found even in the im- 
perial court. The pure morals, the brotherly love, the 
joyful spirit and the hopeful confidence of the members of 
this faith commended it to those everywhere who by 
reason of poverty or sinfulness or scepticism sought 
light, strength and peace — and many such there were in 
the Roman world. All who joined it looked forward to How Far 
the speedy return of Christ to earth; they cared nothing 
for society and the state; they would not join in heathen 
worship; they doubted whether it was right to serve in 
the army. By this separateness they were laying up for 
themselves hatred and contempt on the part of the people 
and the empire. 



Justified. 



470 The Principate 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. For what are the following signifi- 
cant : Seneca, Paul, Crescens, Pliny the Elder, Isis, Martial? 

2. What is meant by Messiah, imperial client, Saturnalia, 
Gentiles, legacy-hunter, Stoicism, New Testament? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare the Stoicism of Rome 
with the Stoicism of Greece (§ 324). 2. Why was the craze 
for amusements in Rome so much greater than in Athens? 

3. "As many slaves, so many enemies." How does this say- 
ing reveal Roman character? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Assessment and Col- 
lection of Taxes. Tucker, Life in the Roman World of Nero 
and St. Paul, pp. 85-91. 2. The Life of the Roman Working 
People. Tucker, pp. 244-255. 3. An Ordinary Roman Dinner- 
Party. Tucker, pp. 229-237. 4. The Household Servants of 
a Well-to-do Roman. Tucker, pp. 200-206. 5. Roman Mar- 
riages and Matrons. Tucker, pp. 292-308. 6. The Roman 
Woman's Dress. Tucker, pp. 308-313. 7. The City Streets 
and Water-Supply. Tucker, pp. 130-137. 8. Building Materials 
and Town-Houses. Tucker, pp. 137-138, 143-163. 9. The 
Lighting and Heating of a Roman House. Tucker, pp. 161-162, 
186-188. 10. The Senate as a Rival of the Emperor. Dill, 
Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius, pp. 39-57. 11. 
The Position of the Clients and Freedmen. Dill, pp. 93-99, 102- 
114. 12. Municipal Income and Expenditure. Dill, pp. 218- 
230. 13. The Roman Colleges : Their Wide Organization and 
Influence. Dill, pp. 250-286. 14. Roman Society Seen through 
Pliny's Writings. Dill, pp. 179-190. 15. The New Stoicism. 
Dill, pp. 301-321. 16. The Belief in Immortality among the 
Romans. Dill, pp. 499-515. 17. The Influence of the Eastern 
Cults, {a) The Religion of Mithra, Dill, pp. 600-610. ih) The 
Great Mother. Dill, pp. 547-559. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. Social Life 
at Rome in the First Century. Morey, ch. 25; Botsford, ch. 
15; Bury, ch. 31. 2. Roman Amusements. Munro, pp. 207- 
216 (sources); Bury, pp. 607-626; Thomas, ch. 4; Wilkins, ch.. 3; 
Johnston, ch. 9. 3. Education of the Time. Munro, pp. 193- 
197 (sources); Bury, pp. 598-600. 4. Literature of the Silver 
Age. Botsford, pp. 239-242; Bury, pp. 457-475; Mackail, pp. 171- 
204. 5. The Rise of Christianity. Seignobos, pp. 362-366; Bots- 
ford, pp. 262-264, 281-282; Gibbon, pp. 109-111 



The Five Good Emperors 471 

529. The Emperors of the Second Century. — Domi- 
tian was followed by a series of rulers equal in character 
and achievement to Tiberius and Vespasian. In the 
century of their leadership the empire reached its climax. 
Their names are as follows: 

Nerva, a.d. 96-98. 

Trajan (adopted son of Nerva), a.d. 98-117. 

Hadrian (relative and adopted son of Trajan), a.d. i 17-138. 

Antoninus (adopted son of Hadrian), a.d. 138-161. 

Marcus Aurelius (adopted son of Antoninus), a.d. 161-180. 

COMMODUS (son of Aurelius), a.d. 180-192. 

530. Nerva, 96-98 A.D. — On the death of Domitian 
the senate chose as princeps, Nerva, a senator of more 
than sixty years. An aged, kindly ruler, his chief service 
to the state during his short reign was the selection of 
Trajan as his successor. 

531. Trajan, 98-117 A.D. — Trajan was a Spaniard 
by birth and an able general. As princeps, he showed 
himself equally vigorous in the management of the em- 
pire. He was a tall, strong, handsome man, of genial 
manners, not highly cultured, but with a broad and active 
mind. He selected his officials wisely and won their 
respect, yet kept careful watch upon their doings and 
required minute reports from them. During long periods 
he was occupied on the various frontiers with military cam- 
paigns. In them he gained brilliant victories and en- 
larged the empire. In this respect he struck out a new 
path. He died in Asia Minor while returning from a 
victorious war in the east. 

532. Hadrian, 1 17-138 A.D. — Ha'dri-an, his succes- 
sor, is a most interesting character. A tried soldier, he cosmo- 
proved himself also a practical administrator. But his p°''*^°'=™- 



47^ The Principate 

most striking trait was his wide interest in all the affairs 
of politics and life. He was well educated and dabbled 
in literature, art and philosophy. He travelled into every 
nook and corner of his wide domains. He was not at- 
tracted by military glory. A peaceful reign, with the 
opportunity it gave him for consolidating and improving 
the state and for following out the bent of his eager in- 
quiring spirit, was his ambition. He was the first em- 
peror to wear a beard, and his love of letters gave him 
the nickname of "Greekling." He had no capacity for 
personal friendship; men respected, but did not love 
him. The Roman world was his pride and joy; he left 
it happier and stronger than it had ever been before. In 
the hour of death he composed the famous poetic address 
to his soul, two lines of which are characteristic of the 
man: 

"Whither wilt thou hie away, 
Never to play again, never to play." 

533. Antoninus Pius, 138-161 A.D. — A senator of Gal- 
lic descent, An'to-ni'nus, became his successor at the 
age of fifty-two. From his name, he and his two succes- 
sors are called the Antonines. He was a quiet, frugal 
ruler, without striking qualities, yet sustaining with 
dignity and honor the duties of his position. So econom- 
ical was he in the finances of the empire that he was called 
the "cheese-parer." His devotion to religion was par- 
ticularly marked. From this trait he received the name 
Pius, "devout." 

" It was in the field of jurisprudence, and there only, that the reign 
of Antoninus could show any positive achievement. We have already 
seen that Hadrian had formed a school Of jurists whose most eminent 



The Royal Philosopher 473 

members had seats on his privy council and exercised a marked in- 
fluence on legislation. Their labors continued to bear fruit under 
his successor, and Roman law was modified in many particulars by 
the principles of equity upon which the dominant philosophy of 
Stoicism laid stress. A wide conception of humanity found expres- 
sion on the provisions which facilitated the enfranchisement of slaves 
and limited the use of torture. It should be noted also that the 
Antonine jurists did much to give to Roman law the systematic form 
which it had hitherto lacked,, and to present it in a compendious 
form to the student." 

534. Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 A.D. — In this respect xhePhi- 
he prepared the way for Mar'cus Au-re'li-us, the most 'f^^Z^^' °° 

r r J 'the Throne. 

extraordinary man who occupied the imperial throne. 
From his youth Marcus had been a student of moral 
philosophy of the Stoic type (§ 324), and in his exalted 
station he sought only to carry out his high ideals. 
Much of the activity of an emperor was distasteful to 
him, but he was proud that everywhere he did his duty as 
a philosopher should. He sought to carry into practice 
the sentiments of love for mankind which he cherished. 
Severe toward himself, he disdained luxury and pre- 
ferred hardship in spite of the fact that he was always 
in poor health. Though he loved peace and desired to 
relieve suffering, his reign was darkened by a series of 
disastrous wars and a terrible pestilence. His family 
life was not pleasant, perhaps through his own fault. His 
son was unworthy of him. His sole joys were found in the 
circle of his fellow-philosophers and in his own thoughts 
which he expressed in his lofty Meditations. He died at 
the age of sixty, while campaigning against barbarian in- 
vaders on the Danube. 

535. Commodus, 180-192 A.D. — His worthless son, 
Com'mo-dus, followed him at the age of nineteen and 



474 



The Principate 



Emperors 
Constitu- 
tionally 
Chosen. 



The 
Succession. 



Civil 

Service 

Reform. 



brought the happy age of the Antonines to a sorry end. 
Cruel and depraved in tastes, weak and vain in disposi- 
tion, he preferred games to government. His highest 
glory was to win in the gladiatorial contests and to be 
hailed as the Roman Hercules. To his praetorians only 
was he attentive and they were the bulwark of his rule. 
He was strangled by a wrestler after eleven years of folly 
and disorder. 

536. Political Progress. — The emperors of the second 
century received their position through election by the 
senate. Hence they were constitutional rulers. So far 
as election went, therefore, the principate was practically 
restored. These emperors ruled also in harmony with 
the senate. It was an era of good feeling in the state. 
Some measures were even brought before the comitia of 
the people. But each emperor took care to indicate his 
successor. The method chosen was that of adoption 
and association in government. The senate never failed 
to elect the successor thus indicated. 

537. Advance in Organization. — In the imperial or- 
ganization two notable advances are seen, (i) The 
offices of Caesar's household, formerly filled by f reed- 
men (§ 504), were now given to members of the eques- 
trian order. Thus Caesar's administration was dignified 
and an honorable public career in the civil service was 
opened to equestrians. (2) The emperor gave to the 
counsellors, who had been called in from time to time 
to advise him, a more official and stable character. They 
constituted the imperial council, made up of officials 
and senators. (3) The edicts of the praetors were col- 
lected and arranged in a code — the so-called Perpetual 
Edict. Trom time immemorial the officials had taken 




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Conquests of Trajan 475 

account of the law of other peoples {ius gentium) in ad- 
ministering justice in Italy and the provinces. Thus a 
body of legal decisions had grown up alongside the law 
of the Twelve Tables. Now this ill-defined mass was 
classified and withdrawn from the control of magistrates. 
All of these changes were the work of Hadrian. 

538. Imperial Progress. — The second century was a 
stirring period in the external history of the empire. 
Two epochs of special importance are to be observed, 
(i) The reign of Trajan marks a significant extension Eniarge- 
of the empire in north and east. After completing the ^^\°^ '^^ 
rampart begun by the Flavian emperors protecting the 
Agri Decumates (§ 513), Trajan proceeded to deal with 
a formidable danger that had arisen on the Danube. 
Here just across the river the Dacians had established a Conquest 
kingdom under an able ruler, De-ceb'a-lus. He had al- ° °^'^'^' 
ready been able to make terms with Domitian, and his 
strength menaced the security of the Roman frontier. 
Trajan determined to crush him. Two campaigns were 
necessary, each taking two years (a.d. 101-102; 105- 
106). The struggle was fierce and desperate. Only on 
the death of Decebalus in battle did Dacia submit and 
become a Roman province. The splendid victory is 
commemorated in the Column of Trajan raised at Rome 
to the height of a hundred feet and decorated with sculpt- 
ured scenes of the war. In the east the question of the The 
relation of Armenia to the empire was reopened; Trajan g^gg^tion 
determined to take issue with Parthia and settle it. He 
took the field in a.d. 115, overcame Armenia, advanced 
southward into Mesopotamia and did not stop till he 
reached the Persian gulf. The Roman arms were su- 
preme in the seats of the oldest civilization. Three new 



476 The Principate 

provinces were created, Armenia, Mesopotamia and 
Assyria; the Parthian king received his crown from the 
hand of the Roman emperor. Already the province of 
Arabia Petraea had been created. Thus the entire ori- 
ental world was under the authority of Rome, and the 
Roman empire had reached its greatest extent. What 
would have been the verdict of time on these eastern con- 
quests we cannot know, for hardly had Hadrian come to 
the throne when he voluntarily withdrew his troops, aban- 
doned the provinces of Mesopotamia and Assyria and 
restored Armenia to its position as a dependent kingdom. 
It seems likely that Rome would not have been able to 
maintain them permanently against Parthia, however 
important they were to the protection of the older Ro- 
man provinces in the east. (2) The other epoch was a 
much less brilliant one. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius 
Teutonic peoples began pressing down to the Danube 
and seeking peaceably or by force to enter the empire. 
Chief among these were the Mar'co-man'ni, and in the en- 
deavor to drive them back, Marcus Aurelius was involved 
in a series of fierce conflicts. The invaders were finally 
overcome and driven across the Danube. The impor- 
tance of the struggle lies in the fact that it was the 
pressure from behind that forced these barbarians into 
the empire, the beginnings of those movements which in 
the coming centuries were to break it in pieces. 

539. Organization. — The changes in internal organiza- 
tion were all in the direction of more unity under the 
imperial administration. The emperor and his officials 
were everywhere active. Hadrian is the great example 
of this. His visits to the provinces, which covered a 
dozen years, were not simply for pleasure, but for the 




THE MEDITERRANEAJir WORLD 

with the boundaries of 
THE ROMAN EMPEEIE Reference to Colors. 

at its greatest extent. 



100 200 300 400 



_B20 



Scale Of Miles. 



over.9,000Xeet> 
3.000 to 9,000 feet 
600 to 3,000 feet 
Sea Level to 600 feet 



Longitude East from G 



Administrative Reforms 477 

purpose of inspecting their resources and organization. 
As a result of them, a more careful and minute super- 
vision of the details of administration was introduced. 
Imperial officials were appointed to look after the affairs 
of the municipalities which were thus taken up directly 
into the structure of the empire. Hadrian built many 
fine buildings for these cities and brought their finances 
into order. The chief benefit of such measures was that its Good 
they consolidated the powers of the state and its interest, ^^^f^ 
bringing all under the guidance of a central authority, 
produced greater efficiency and stimulated the life of the 
members. A wider extension of the franchise was nat- 
ural in these circumstances, but this was not followed 
by greater zeal for the state and a patriotic devotion to it. 
Citizenship was rather looked upon as a personal honor 
and prized because it gave special privileges. In this 
imperial administration Italy began to stand on the same 
basis as the provinces, and Rome itself was treated like 
any other municipality. The use of barbarians in the 
legions still further relieved the citizens from military 
service. Likewise the extension of imperial courts of 
justice throughout the Roman world and the supremacy 
of -Roman imperial law which was characteristic of the 
time, while it was a bond of union, served as another 
means of making individuals and local communities de- 
pendent on the central government. 

540. Social Life. — Society breathed more freely under 
the emperors of the second century, and as a result new 
life sprang up on all sides. Trajan and Hadrian were Art and 
mighty builders. The finest memorial of the former is his jtectJre. 
Column at Rome, already referred to (§ 538). Hadrian's 
three chief buildings at Rome were the temple of \^enus 



478 The Principate 

and Roma, the largest and most magnificent of all Ro- 
man temples; the Pantheon — originally the work of 
Agrippa — a temple of all the gods; and a massive mauso- 
leum which he built on the other side of the Tiber, now 
known as the Castle of St. Angelo. Yet, most charac- 
teristic of the times was the stately villa of Hadrian at 
Tibur, conceived on a grand scale and filled with works 
of art; a theatre, libraries, temples, porches and gardens 
found place in it. From it have been taken statues, 
reliefs, mosaics and silver ornaments sufficient to stock 
several museums. 

541. The Literary Revival. — Literature flourished un- 
der the liberal patronage of the emperors and in the 
free atmosphere of the times. A striking sign of the 
unity in the world of letters under the empire is the fact 
that as many works of lasting fame were written in Gre'ek 
Tacitus. as in Latin. One of the greatest historians of antiquity, 
Cornelius Tac'i-tus, belongs to this century. His chief 
works are the Histories and the Annals, which deal 
with the empire under the Julian and Flavian Caesars. 
Unfortunately, large parts of these works have been lost, 
but what remains is our chief source of knowledge for 
the times. Tacitus aspired to bring back to life and 
power just the ideas and institutions which the history 
of the empire had shown to be fruitless and hopeless. 
He sought to exalt the senatorial nobility as over against 
the princeps, Rome and Italy as over against the prov- 
inces. But so keen is his insight into characters and 
manners at Rome, and so brilliant his way of expressing 
his estimates of them, that his bitter and one-sided judg- 
ments have colored all subsequent views of the times. 
Two lesser works of his are the Agricola, an appreciation 



The Silver Age 479 

of his father-in-law, the general of Domitian, and the 
Germania, a description of the Germans, in which their 
simplicity and purity of life are favorably compared with 
the depravity of imperial Rome. Side by side with juvenai. 
Tacitus stands Juvenal, the satirist of the empire. What 
the former condemned as an historian, the latter held 
up to scorn and ridicule in his powerful verse. Hypo- 
critical philosophers, parasitical clients, rich fools, os- 
tentatious luxury, fortune-hunting and the trials of poor 
men of letters are painted in strong and vivid colors. 
Suetonius wrote the Lives of the Twelve Ccesars, a gossipy Suetonius 
work, yet very helpful as a source for the reigns of the 
early Caesars including Domitian. 

542. Plutarch and Lucian. — Of Greek writers the Greek 
most famous is Plutarch (a.d. 46-125), who wrote the "^"'"^• 
Parallel Lives, forty-six in number, setting the biography 

of a Roman hero over against that of a Greek. He was a 
diligent collector of anecdotes and used them shrewdly 
to show the traits of his characters. The book has ever 
been a storehouse of information and at the same time 
a hand-book of morals — history teaching by the examples 
of the greatest men of the ancient world. Not so well 
known, but a brighter, keener mind than Plutarch, was 
Lucian (about a.d. 125-180). His career was typical of the 
time; he was a travelling lecturer. His peculiar gift re- 
vealed itself in the writing of witty and satirical dialogues. 
The weaknesses and inconsistencies of the religion of his 
day are daringly ridiculed in his D ialogues of the Gods , while 
similar keen and amusing criticism is passed on various 
types of people of his day in the Dialogues of the Dead. 

543. Representative Men of the Times. — Two men 
may be chosen to represent the higher life of this 



480 The Principate 

Pliny the ccntury I Pliny the Younger and Marcus Aurelius, the 
ounger. emperor. Pliny was a trusted official of Trajan and 
reveals himself and his times in a series of Letters to 
friends. In these he appears as a cultivated gentleman, 
such as might be met among us to-day. He takes long 
walks in the woods and delights in the beauty of nature. 
He discusses the latest books. With a modesty that 
approaches vanity, he tells of his gifts to his native town 
in behalf of education. He entertains his guests by tak- 
ing them around the grounds of his villa and inviting 
their admiration. He gives public readings from his 
works, and we feel him tremble as he gets on his legs 
before his cultured audience. A good-natured, indul- 
gent master to his slaves, a devoted husband, an upright, 
earnest, if somewhat commonplace, character, he ex- 
hibits the Roman gentleman produced by the broad, 
serious and refined culture of the early second century. 

544. Marcus Aurelius, Emperor and Philosopher. — 
On a higher plane we meet with the impressive and mel- 
ancholy figure of the emperor-philosopher, Marcus 
Aurelius. From his youth he was a Stoic in word and 
deed. His Meditations, which he wrote down in Greek 
from time to time wherever he happened to be, in the 
camp or in the palace, reveal to us his thoughts. He 
aspired to be a perfect man and he thought it possible to 
attain his ideal by the old Stoic rule of following nature 
(§ 324). His philosophy was tempered by practical ex- 
perience, and hence he insisted much on the duty of a 
true man to society. From his experience, perhaps, 
came also his sense of the need of divine help. He turned 
his thought into life; this separates him from the profes- 
sional philosopher and makes him interesting, for he 



Progress of Christianity 481 

passed his life on the throne. A sober and high-minded 
personahty, he did his duty in this high sphere and came 
near to practising what he preached. 

545. Religion. — Yet this emperor persecuted the Persecu- 
Christians! Such are the contradictions of history. The chrisdans. 
growing popular hatred of the Christians is not remark- 
able. We have already suggested a reason (§528). As 
Tertullian, a Christian writer, said: "If the Tiber rises, 
if the Nile does not rise, if the heavens give no rain, if 
there is an earthquake, famine, or pestilence, straightway 
the cry is, 'The Christians to the lions!' " The imperial 
authorities in some cases sought to stand against the mob 
and protect the Christians from unwarranted violence. 
Trajan wrote Pliny not to search out Christians for 
death, but only to deal with cases that were brought be- 
fore him. Marcus Aurelius was more severe, and under 
his command Christians were hunted down and put to 
death. He regarded their refusal to join in the religion 
of the empire as "mere obstinacy" and thought it a part 
of his duty to punish those who professed what Pliny 
called "a degrading and unreasonable superstition." 
The Christians, in their turn, went willingly in great 
numbers to death, which they called "martyrdom," 
that is, "witnessing" to their faith. Yet they grew in Their 
numbers and in unity, impelled both by persecution from ^°^^^^^- 
without and by the false doctrines that some within the 
fold were teaching. Among them appeared literary de- 
fenders, some of whom addressed to the emperors what 
are called Apologies, or arguments in defence of Chris- 
tianity as a reasonable and worthy religion; others wrote 
books maintaining the true or "orthodox" doctrine 
against the false doctrine or "heresy." Thus out of the 



482 The Principate 

various churches all over the empire was slowly forming 
the Church, the one body of believers in Christ, standing 
over against the empire and the heretics. It was soon 
to make its power felt in both directions. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i . What is meant by mausoleum, heretic, 
Imperial Council, martyrdom, dyarchy, apology? 2. Name 
the emperors of this century in chronological order. 3. For 
what are the following famous : Hercules, Pliny the Younger, 
Decebalus, Tacitus, Plutarch? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. In what were Marcus Aurelius 
and Solomon alike? 2. Compare the empire of Augustus 
in extent with the empire of Trajan. 3. Compare Pliny 
the Younger with Cicero in ideals, activities and character. 
4. Why is Juvenal more a type of this period than of Athens 
in the fifth century? 5. What reasons may be given for the 
famous saying of Gibbon quoted below? * 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. An Estimate of the Character 
of the Good Emperors. Nerva, Jones, p. 149; Trajan, Jones, 
p. 156; Hadrian, Jones, p. 179; Antoninus, Jones, pp. 196-197; 
Marcus Aurelius, Jones, pp. 204-208. 2. The Eastern Conquests. 
Jones, pp. 164, 170-172, 175, 203, 208, 212. 3. The Barbarians 
Threaten the Empire. Jones, pp. 221-228. 4. The Material 
Welfare of Italy. Jones, pp. 165-168, 171, 180-182. 5. East- 
ern Ideas Triumphant Over Western Ideas. Jones, pp. 212-220. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Empire 

in the Second Century. Seignobos, ch. 22; Botsford, pp. 243- 
256; Morey, ch. 26; Merivale, pp. 513-542; Gibbon, ch. i. 2. The 
Inner Politics of the Empire. Abbott, ch. 15. 3. The Dacian 
Wars of Trajan. Bury, pp. 421-430. 4. Personality and Work 
of Hadrian. Merivale, pp. 524-529. Bury, ch. 26. 5. Marcus 
Aurelius. Merivale, pp. 538-539; Bury, ch. 28; Munro, pp. 176- 
178 (source). 6. The Literature of the Second Century. Bots- 
ford, pp. 256-262; Bury, pp. 475-487. 7. Pliny and the Chris- 
tians. Laing, pp. 468-471 (source); Munro, pp. 165-167 (source); 

* "If a man were called upon to fix the period in the history of the 
world during which the condition of the human race was most happy 
and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed 
from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus." 



Age of the Severi 483 

Bury, pp. 445-448. 8. Tacitus the Historian. Mackail, pp. 205- 
220; Laing, pp. 399-424. 9. "As an emperor I am a Roman, 
but as a man my city is the world." How does this saying 
reveal the spirit of the time ? 

546. Septimius Severus, 193-211 A.D. — The praetori- 
ans, after the death of Commodus, held the succession to 
the empire in their hands. Having finally sold it to the 
highest bidder, they were met by the opposition of the 
three frontier armies on the Rhine, the Danube and the 
Euphrates, who proclaimed their own commanders as 
emperors. In the civil war that followed, Sep-tim'i-us Se- 
ve'rus, of an African family, general of the army on the 
Danube, secured the throne and ruled with vigor as the 

first military emperor (a.d. 193-211). He reorganized The Prince 
the praetorians by substituting his own soldiers for the the interest 
Italians, and by drawing troops from the regular army °^ ^® 
into Italy he increased its military establishment from 
ten thousand to forty thousand. He extended the em- 
pire by recovering Mesopotamia, abandoned by Hadrian 
(§ 538). He ruled as a practically absolute monarch, dis- 
regarding the prerogatives of the senate. By taking the 
name of Antoninus he sought to attach himself to the 
previous dynasty, while he appointed his sons as his suc- 
cessors. The centralization and extension of the power 
of the princeps were his manifest aims, the vigor and 
prosperity of his administration were evidences of his 
success. Yet the military basis of his throne was un- 
sound and dangerous. 

547. Caracalla, 21 1-2 17 A.D. — His son Car'a-cal'la 
was a cruel and wasteful ruler who was murdered by the 
prefect of the guard. Two achievements have made him 
famous: (i) the building of the "Baths of Caracalla" at 



484 The Priiicipate 

Rome, a colossal and elegant series of public baths; (2) 
his edict, of which the beginning has been recently found 
in an Egyptian papyrus, bestowing citizenship upon all 
the inhabitants of the empire except the dediticii, that is 
to say, those destitute of rights in some one of the organ- 
ized municipal or city-states (a.d. 212). This last act 
was intended by him to facilitate the supervision of local 
government by making it more uniform, to increase 
the number of citizens, from whom alone was collected 
a tax on inheritances and on sales which went to pro- 
vide pensions for the veterans, and to bring to completion 
the long process of civilizing by means of urban institu- 
tions which Alexander the Great — the model of Caracalla 
— had begun (§ 299). 

548. Alexander Severus, 222-235 A.D. — Alexander 
Severus a distant relative of the house of Septimius, was 
no soldier. Indeed, his reign marks a reaction toward 
constitutional rule. Though young, he had an earnest 
and serious spirit and sought to conform his life to the 
highest models. An oriental by birth and sentiment, he 
was deeply religious. In a sanctuary in his palace he 
placed statues of Abraham, Orpheus, Apollo and Jesus. 
But such a temper did not attract the legions. His cam- 
paigns were unsuccessful and he was slain by a mob of 
his own soldiers. 

549. The Golden Age of the Jurists. — Under the em- 
perors of the house of Septimius Severus the importance 
of the jurists is notable. The prefect of the praetorians 
had come to have charge of the administration of justice 
under the emperor. He was, therefore, chiefly a great 
lawyer and only secondarily a military man. Under these 
emperors he became the chief minister and adviser of the 



Ag-e of the Sevein 485 

crown. Since he was a "knight," and not a senator, his The oid 
elevation meant the ehmination of the highest aristocracy ceas^^s^tr^ 
from all but the chief military positions; and, indeed, the Furnish the 
Severi began, what Gal'li-e'nus (253-268 a.d.) completed, 
the removal of the senators from the army also. The 
glory of their reigns were the prefects Papinian and 
Ulpian. To them the emperor was the source of justice 
and law, the supreme authority. Thus they gave a new 
theory of the Roman constitution. They gathered the im- 
perial judgments ("decrees"), instructions ("rescripts") 
and orders ("edicts"), and brought them into harmony 
according to the highest ideals of the time. This they 
did by writing commentaries on the decisions of the em- 
perors, by giving official legal interpretations {responsa) 
and discussing doubtful points of law. Thus was pre- xheHar- 
pared the way for a code of imperial law. The spread of ^°he 'cJii 
the Grasco-Roman civilization reached its acme in the i^^w. 
age of the Severi. It is true that the empire was a trifle 
greater in territorial extent in the last year or two of 
Trajan's reign; but the growth of new municipalities, 
which is the mark of expanding culture, continued to its 
culmination in the epoch now under consideration. 

During the regime of the jurists, moreover, the ties of law which Supervision 
bound the municipalities to the central government were perfected, °^ Mumc- 
and the various officials already established — notably by Hadrian — ernment. 
to check their extravagance and to remedy defects in their adminis- 
tration of justice were as yet interfering only in a salutory way with 
local freedom. There is no clear evidence for a lessening of a healthy 
interest in municipal politics. It is true that men of wealth did 
not always volunteer for public officers, but this was nothing 
new. Seeing that rich men paid their taxes by holding offices, they 
had been compelled to become candidates for the magistracies since 
the time of the republic. 



486 The Principate 

For over two hundred and fifty years a territory, which 
has to-day a population of over one hundred and ninety 
millions, and which may have had one-third of that num- 
ber in antiquity, had seen no great war or serious dis- 
turbance of economic production. 

550. Growth of Municipalities. — The results were 
apparent in the existence of many thousand towns 
and municipalities in which the peasants as well as the 
traders and citizens lived. These were well equipped 
with sewers and aqueducts, streets and sidewalks, tem- 
ples and amphitheatres which stand in their ruins to- 
day, sometimes far out in the desert, as impressive testi- 
monials of the achievements of the "Roman peace." 

551. The People Not Warlike. — Around the frontiers 
ran, where a natural barrier was wanting, the great 
limes, a wall here, a chain of forts there, along which 
lived the soldiers, now permitted by the Severi to have 
wives and homes in the towns which had grown up at 
the military posts. Only these men on the border 
had weapons, military organization and knowledge of 
war. Two centuries and a half of relaxation and peace 
had converted a population almost every man of which 
at the time of Julius Caesar had been potentially a sol- 
dier into a great flock of sheep of which the soldiers were 
the watch-dogs. In return for their services they re- 
ceived pay while in the army, and pensions and immu- 

The Sol- nity from municipal taxes after their discharge. They 
Masters! wcrc really the masters of the world, and during the 
time of the Severi they became conscious of this fact. 
Accordingly each great army corps now sought to gain 
for itself the possession of the empire; they left the 
frontiers and setting out for the capital engaged in a 



First Barbarian Invasions 487 

protracted war (235 a.d to 270 a.d.) with one another, 
while in their rear the barbarians whom they had held 
in check swept over the limes and plundered and harried 
at will. 

552. The Break-up of the Roman Empire. — During Barbarian 
this horrible welter of civil and foreign war Franks and 'f"^^^'°"s- 
Alamanni invaded Gaul and pushed south into Spain 

and Italy. Goths swept from beyond the Danube to the 
Mediterranean, and taking ship crossed the Black sea and 
ravaged Asia Minor. They even sailed the entire length 
of the Mediterranean, plundering Greece and Africa on 
their way. The Sassanids, who in 227 a.d. had set the 
Parthian dynasty of the Arsacids aside and re-established 
a Persian empire in Asia, claimed all the territory once 
ruled by Cyrus, and again and again sacked Asia Minor 
and Syria. Even Antioch was twice captured by them. 
Down the Nile came the Arab Nomads; into Numidia 
swarmed the Moors. The whole civilized world was at 
one time or other overwhelmed by the barbarians. A xhePiague. 
horrible plague broke out which raged in the empire for 
fifteen years. Great cities like Alexandria fell to half 
their size. Whole towns were left without inhabitants, 
and in every direction stood tumbled-down houses and 
deserted farms. This frightful period culminated in the Gaiiienus. 
reign of the unhappy Gallienus (253-260 a.d.). 

553. The Thirty Tyrants. — One of his predecessors, 
his father, Decius, was slain in battle against the Goths; 
another. Valerian, was made prisoner by the Sassanian 

king. AuRELiAN (a.d. 270-275) had better success. He Aureiian. 
restored the unity of the empire by overthrowing Queen 
Zenobia, who had set up an independent kingdom in the 
east with its capital at Palmyra, and Tet'ri-cus, the head 



488 



The Great Upheaval 



Probus. 



New • 
Platonism. 



of a similar kingdom in Gaul. The barbarians were 
beaten back, Rome was fortified with the so-called Aure- 
lian wall and a splendid ''triumph" was held in the city. 
He was compelled, however, to abandon Dacia to the 
invaders. Probus (a.d. 276-282) was equally successful 
against the barbarians. He thrust them back from the 
northern frontiers and restored the wall connecting the 
Rhine and Danube. He transplanted numbers of these 
tribes into the empire as settlers and added many to 
his armies. This desperate measure was necessary to 
strengthen the waning size and vigor of the Roman mil- 
itary and civic body. Both he and Aurelian, however, 
were at last slain by their own soldiers while in the field, 
but not till the one had restored the unity of the empire 
and the other cleared it of the invaders. It remained 
for a more adroit and fortunate man to build anew a 
wonderful imperial system. But he could not undo what 
had been done in the generation between Alexander and 
Aurelian — the age of the Thirty Tyrants, as it is some- 
times called; for in that awful time the noble culture of 
antiquity perished beyond the hope of restoration. The 
barbarian invasions of the third century with their attend- 
ant wars and calamities were more far-reaching in their 
effects upon ancient life than were the Germanic move- 
ments of the fifth century. 

554. Religion. — It is not surprising that religion had a 
large place in the life of this age of disaster. The 
troubles and woes of the time led men everywhere to look 
to the heavenly powers for mercy and help. All sorts of 
religions found favor. Magic and astrology were very 
popular with all classes. In Alexandria a new school of 
philosophy sprang up called "New Platonism," because 



PLATE XXXVII 




THE PANTHKOX, ROM K 




From a p/iotogrn/'h Ity R. Moscwui 

THE WALLS OF AURELIAN 



Religious Revival 489 

it revived the ideas of Plato (§ 266) and sought to find 
comfort and a rule of life in them. The soldiers had 
their religion and, as they were the leading force of the 
time, it spread widely. This was the worship of Mithra, Mithraism. 
a Persian deity, represented as a young hero slaying a 
bull or bearing it off on his shoulders. He had his 
priests and his temples; he promised victory over sin and 
immortal happiness to his followers. The worship of 
the sun as the source of all life, the unconquerable lord, 
was a popular cult. The emperors of the time were very 
favorable to these various religions; they saw in them a 
source of strength for the hard-pressed Roman world. 

555. Christianity. — Only against one faith were all 
alike opposed. Christianity had to battle with them 
for her life and no one could foresee the result. Yet she 
grew through all the century, undismayed by persecution. 
The effect of her independent position, opposed as she 
was by the state and attacked by the people, began to 
appear. Her organization became more centralized. Growth of 
Among the elders or bishops of the churches, here and ^^n^"'^^" 
there, a leader appeared who stood at the head of the 
Christians of the city and became the bishop; the elders 
or presbyters became "priests"* under the bishop's 
authority; churches of a district united for the settle- 
ment of questions common to them by sending their 
priests to a synod, presided over by a bishop. Thus a 
distinction between the clergy and the lay members began 
to arise. Bishops in such centres as Antioch, Alexan- The 
dria or Rome, where the Christians were many, were 
called archbishops or metropolitans. The church at The 
Rome came to have a special position. It was thought church 

* The word "priest" is a contracted form of the word "presbyter." 



Hierarchy. 



490 ' The Great Upheaval 

that Peter, the leader of Jesus' disciples, was its founder 
and thus gave it leadership over the other churches. Its 
bishop was thus led to make peculiar claims to head- 
ship in the Church. In all this advance of the Church 
we see it begin to shape itself on the model of the imperial 
organization and to stand up over against it. Leaders 
of thought began to come forward. In Alexandria, a 
school of Christian teaching was formed, the most brill- 
iant ornament of which was Origen. In North Africa, 
Christianity was particularly strong. Here the great 
names were Tertullian and Cyprian, who by their writ- 
ings defended the Church against enemies within and 
without. A Christian art began to appear. Upon grave- 
stones and chapels the dove, the good shepherd and the 
lamb, favorite symbols of the new faith, were rudely 
carved or painted. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. Name the chief emperors of the third 
century. 2. For what are the following significant : Zenobia, 
Ulpian, Origen? 3. What is meant by coloni, priest, New 
Platonism, edict, Sassanian? 4. What is the date of the 
Edict of Caracalla? 5. Describe the conditions existing on the 
Roman frontier in the third century. 6. From what regions 
did the invaders come into the Roman territory? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare Greek religion in the 
sixth century b.c. (§ 134) with the religion of this age — what 
similar conditions and results? 2. How do the barbarian in- 
vasions resemble those that afflicted the oriental world (§§ 12, 
16, 35, 48, 71. 74)? 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. The Concessions of Severus 
to the Military Element. Jones, pp. 244-249. 2. Two Opinions 
upon the Edict of Caracalla. Jones, pp. 256-257. 3. Ten Years 
of Respite under Severus Alexander. Jones, pp. 268-276. 
4. Strife between the Senatorial and Military Orders. Jones, 
pp. 280-286, 306-310. 5. Aurelian, One of the Great Com- 
manders. Jones, pp. 318-335. 



Restoration 491 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Em- 
pire in the Third Century, Gibbon, pp. 21-83; Money, 
ch. 27; Merivale, pp. 542-569; Seignobos, pp. 373-390. 2. The 
Emperor and His Administration. Abboti, pp. 329-334; Bots- 
ford, pp. 276-278. 3. The Jurists of the Empire. Seignobos, 
pp. 383-384; Botsford, pp. 269-270. 4. Severus Alexander. Gib- 
bon, pp. 37, 38; Merivale, pp. 555, 556. 5. The Sassanian Kings. 
Gibbon, pp. 39-42; Botsford, pp. 271-272. 6. Zenobia and 
Palmyra. Gibbon, pp. 70-73. 



- 8.— THE LATER ROMAN EMPIRE 
(DESPOTISM) 

A.D. 284-395 

556. The Empire Reorganized. — The new organiza- 
tion of the state which was demanded by the times was 
started by an emperor at the close of the century. Among 
the able lieutenants that the valiant emperors Aurelian 
and Probus gathered about them and trained in the 
fierce battles with Goths and Persians were Di'o-cle'tian 
and Max-im'i-an. The legions chose Diocletian as em- Diocletian 
peror (a.d. 284-305) to defend and restore the decaying ^l^-^\^°^ 
empire. He responded by a new plan of imperial or- xhePian 

ganization to meet the difficulties of the times, (i) To of Reorgan- 
ization, 
solve the problem of the succession he associated with 

himself as colleague Maximian, giving him the title of 

Augustus, and took as assistants Galerius and Con- 

STANTius, giving them the title of Caesar. Hence, there 

was always one at hand to succeed to the throne. (2) 

To meet the necessity of defending so great an empire 

from its enemies, he assigned Maximian to Italy and the 

western provinces with Constantius under him in charge 

of Gaul, Spain and Britain, and himself took the east with 

Galerius under him in charge of lUyricum. His cap- 



492 



The Despotism 



Bureau- 
cracy. 



End of the 
System of 
Augustus. 



ital was at Nicomedia in Asia Minor; that of Maximian 
at Milan in Italy. Thus there was no general of a large 
army who was not already a member of the government. 
(3) For a better administration of the state, he split up the 
provinces, making one hundred and sixteen in all. These 
were united into twelve " dioceses." (4) To guard against 
misuse of power, he separated the military from the civil 
authority. Governors of provinces were civil ofHcers. 
Generals (counts and dukes) had charge of the soldiery. 
(5) A very complex organization of the officials of the state 
was introduced; all were closely bound together, each de- 
pendent on the one above him in rank, until the culmina- 
tion was reached in the emperor. Each rank of officials 
had its appropriate title. The supreme emperor was 
far above all other mortals and surrounded himself with 
oriental pomp and form; he wore a diadem and was 
called Dominus, "lord"; the subject was servus, "slave." 
This kind of a government had existed in Egypt since the 
time of the Ptolemies (§ 311). 

557. A Despotism. — Thus by these measures the prin- 
cipate perished and an absolute monarchy took its 
place. The republic with its constitution and magis- 
trates, princeps, senate, assemblies, citizens became as 
insignificant as titles of nobility in a modern republic. 
The pre-eminence of Rome and Italy vanished. All 
that had been built up by Augustus with such marvellous 
skill, and, for three centuries, had, in form at least, been 
the basis of Roman government, passed away. That it 
should perish was proper, for it had done its work and 
was unei^ "al to the new demands. But the meaning' of 
the change now introduced must not be overlooked. 
The empire of Rome was essentially transformed. The 



Diocletian 493 

experiment in government, which sought to combine re- 
publican institutions with effective administration of an 
empire, was over. 

558. The Personality of Diocletian. — His plan of re- 
organization proves Diocletian to have been a wise and 
practical statesman, as well as a skilful soldier. He was 
of humble origin, the son of a freedman of Dalmatia, 
and had worked his way up from the ranks. Tall and 
spare of body, he had a clear mind, reflected in a face 
with finely cut features, and an attractive personality 
which made firm friends. With a strong will that pur- 
sued its way resistlessly, and used all men to further its 
designs, he had one weakness common to his age — a vein 
of religious superstition which caused him to set much 
store by omens and signs, and to pay passionate heed to 
the utterances of magicians and astrologers. 

559. Good Results of the New Plan. — Under his skil- 
ful ministration the exhausted empire was revived and 
leaped to its feet. The coinage was improved and fi- 
nances restored. New taxes were imposed, but their 
burden was unwisely distributed among the various 
classes of society. Military reforms, particularly the concentra- 
creation of a field-army in addition to the legions on 
the frontiers, available wherever the need was greatest, 
brought the disturbed frontiers into order. Laws were 
issued bearing on all sides of life; it was even attempted 
to regulate prices by legislation. Imperial cities were 
adorned with new and splendid buildings, and old foun- 
dations were renewed. Inscriptions of the time hail the 
period as the "happy era" of general betterment. 

560. Bad Results of the New Plan. — The complicated 
administrative system of Diocletian, while it preserved the 



tion of 
Troops. 



494 The Despotisjn 

empire as a structure, sapped its inner life. The cost of 
maintaining so great a body of officials was an enormous 
drain. Taxation grew by leaps and bounds accompanied 
by scarcity of money, increase of poverty and decline of 
population. Class distinctions still further weakened the 
effectiveness of the body politic. The senatorial class was 
rich and powerful and was exempted from many civic 
burdens. These fell largely on the next lower class, 
called the curials or decurions. All who possessed at 
least twenty-five acres of land were included in this class. 
They were responsible for the collection of taxes, de- 
ficiencies in which they must make up out of their own 
private fortunes. These obligations were hereditary; a 
son of a curial entered the order at the age of eighteen; 
severe laws were passed to prevent any from avoiding the 
civic burdens, which often proved their ruin. As the 
result of wars and taxation many small freeholders lost 
their liberty to migrate and became coloni on the estates 
of the nobles, to be sold with the land to which they 
belonged. The artisans formed a separate class to which 
all members were likewise perpetually bound. The re- 
sult of all these arrangements was that the imperial 
machine with its rigid system and universal sweep was 
crushing the life out of the middle classes, destroying all 
civic patriotism and individual ambition, in the praise- 
worthy endeavor to hold the state together. 

561. Persecution of Christians. — The religious policy 
of Diocletian brought upon him a serious conflict. In 
his zeal for the revival of the ancient Roman worship, 
he sought to suppress the Christians. Although they 
were in his court and his legions and formed an influ- 
ential and progressive element in the state, his unre- 



Constantine 495 

lenting, almost fanatical, spirit did not flinch from the 
struggle. He did not use bloody means; his plan was 
rather by destroying churches, silencing leaders and seiz- 
ing property to bring Christianity gradually into con- 
tempt and weakness. He failed. His edict against the its Failure, 
faith was only partially respected in the west, and down 
to the end of his reign the struggle went on. During his 
own lifetime — after his abdication (§ 562) — his succes- 
sor, Galerius, issued his Edict of Toleration (a.d. 311), 
which gave the Christians freedom to worship in public 
and private on condition of paying due respect to the 
laws. 

562. Difficulties of the Succession.^A more remark- 
able weakness in his system revealed itself. Worn out 
with his incessant labors, Diocletian determined to re- 
tire from his imperial position. In a.d. 305, after twenty- Abdication 
one years of rule, he abdicated and retired to Dalmatia August! 
to spend in private the remainder of his life. He per- 
suaded his colleague, Maximian, to follow his example. 

The Cassars stepped into their places and new Caesars 
were appointed. But without Diocletian the system would 
not work. His successor as senior Augustus lost control 
of the situation, and a year later the son of Constantius, 
Constantine, was proclaimed imperator by his legions 
in the west. The Roman world saw the emperors involved 
in conflict with each other for the supremacy. The out- 
come was the victory of Constantine, who in a.d. 323 
became sole emperor (a.d. 323-337). 

563. Constantine, 306-337 A.D. — Constantine was at His Per- 
this time about forty years of age, a man of heroic ^°°^''^- 
stature, handsome and strong. Tradition tells of his 
piercing eye and commanding dignity. A brave warrior, 



496 The Despotism 

he won many of his battles by his own personal cour- 
age and strength in single combat. Shrewd and self- 
contained, never thrown off his guard, quick to seize an 
opportunity, with a religious sense akin to Diocletian's 
and a love of praise and pomp which he gratified by the 
oriental splendor of his dress and court, he carried out 
the spirit of Diocletian's policy to the end. From the 
men of his own time and from succeeding ages he has 
His Two won the title of "the Great." Of all his achievements 
tions"to"" ^wo have given him this special claim to remembrance: 
Progress. (j) hjs transference of the imperial capital from' Rome 
to a new city on the Bosporus, named from him Con- 
stantinople; (2) his reconciliation of the empire with 
Christianity. 

564. The New Capital. — Constantinople was placed 
on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium. It was most 
wisely placed for the capital of an empire that extended 
from the Euphrates to Britain. From it the emperor 
could survey his domain on either side and most easily 
Advantages control its scvcral parts. Commerce found it a most con- 
venient centre and its harbors were unsurpassed. It lay 
near, yet not too near, to the Danube, the frontier whence 
danger from the barbarians was most pressing. It was 
easy of defence by land and sea, lying on seven hills and 
protected on three sides by water. The emperor pro- 
posed to call it New Rome, and, although the name com- 
memorating its founder has been preferred by after ages, 
the result contemplated by him took place — the suprem- 
acy of old Rome passed to its new rival. Here the court 
was set up, here magnificent palaces were built, from 
here the imperial administration ruled the Roman world. 
Rome sank to the level of a provincial city, mighty in 



PLAIE XXXIX 




The Arch of Constantine at Rome 




A Roman Aqueduct in Gaul 
CHARACTERISTIC ROMAN ARCHITECTURE 



Constantine and Chinstianity 497 

its past alone, until it rose again to be the capital of a 
spiritual state, the seat of the Roman Church. 

565. Recognition of Christianity. — Already, before he 
became sole emperor, Constantine had seen how great 
a power Christianity had become, and by his friendly 
attitude won the Christians to his side. His father, 
though never breaking with the old religion, had inclined 
to the worship of the Christian god, and the son followed 
his example. In a.d. 313 he published the Edict of 
Milan, by which Christianity was put on a par with the 
other religions of the Roman empire. As time went on 
and he became the lord of the Roman world, his favor 
was shown more clearly by his edicts and by his personal 
kindness to Christian bishops. He read the Scriptures. 
He presided at a famous council of Christian bishops at consiantine 
Ni-cae'a (a.d. 325), where an important theological ques- ^^^^_ 
tion was decided — whether Jesus Christ was the same as 
God or only like him.* In the hour of death he was 
baptized into the Church, and thus personally confessed 
Christianity. But, as emperor, he refused to take sides; 
if he granted favors to Christians, he also consecrated 
temples and gave privileges to priests of the old Roman 
cult. Nor was his conduct ever deeply influenced by 
Christian teaching. He sought to reconcile all wor- 
shippers of every god and use them for the upbuilding 
of the empire. Yet his personal attitude toward Chris- 
tianity was more potent than his official neutrality. 
From his reign dates the beginning of the victory of 
Christianity over the ancient faiths of the Roman world 
and the union between the Church and the empire. 

* Those who held the latter view were led by the Bishop Arius and 
were hence called Arians. The question was decided against them in 
the Nicene Council. 



498 The Despotism 

Eu-se'bi-us, the Church historian and friend of Constantine, tells 
us, in his life of the emperor, that Constantine, before he became sole 
emperor, while marching against one of his rivals, uncertain as to his 
duty to God, beheld a wonderful vision. As the day was declining, 
he saw the representation of a cross of light in the heavens, above the 
sun, and bearing the inscription. Conquer by this ! At this sight he 
himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which 
followed him on the expedition and witnessed the miracle. While 
pondering on the vision, he fell into a sleep in which Christ appeared 
to him with the same sign and bade him make a likeness of it as a 
standard for his army. He obeyed, and produced what was called 
the Labarum, a banner hung from a cross-bar on a spear, at the top 
of which was a wreath containing in its centre a monogram for the 
name of Christ. From this time forth Constantine was at heart 
a Christian. 

566. Successors of Constantine. — On the death of Con- 
stantine, his three sons followed him as emperors in the 
east and west (a.d. 337-353) until one of them, Con- 
STANTius, became sole emperor (a.d. 353-361). After 
him came another member of the house of Constantine, 
Julian (a.d. 361-363). His death on the eastern fron- 
tier was followed by the elevation of several generals of 
the armies, one of whom was the unfortunate Valens 
(a.d. 364-378), until a vigorous and successful warrior, 
The'o-do'si-us (a.d. 379-395), at first emperor in the 
east, succeeded in uniting the empire again. The renewal 
of barbarian invasions after his death on a scale hitherto 
unparalleled, and the establishment of their independent 
states in the empire, has made the year of his death, 
a.d. 395, a significant turning point in history. 

567. Christianity and the Empire. — While the inroads 
on the Danube and the Rhine continued, and the Per- 
sians in the east were constantly threatening the Ro- 
man provinces, the uppermost question in the history 



Struggle with and xvlthin Church 499 

of this half- century was the relation of the empire to 
Christianity. The Church, superbly organized under 
its bishops, and having its greatest strength in the cities,* 
offered itself as a useful ally to the imperial power. 
A fierce conflict about the doctrine which had been in The War of 
dispute at the council of Nicaea (§ 565) was rending the in°the°^^ 
Church in twain. Arianism sought to reassert itself church, 
against its opposing view, which being accepted in that 
council was called Orthodoxy or the "right doctrine." 
The sons of Constantine had been reared as Christians, 
but Constantius accepted the Arian view. Hence, the 
Arians sought to obtain his help to gain their victory. 
Although, as emperor, he sought to remain, like his 
father, neutral in religious matters, he could not help 
being drawn into the struggle. The empire took the 
side of Arianism. Over against him as representing 
orthodoxy was Athanasius, the brilliant and unscrupu- 
lous bishop of Alexandria. The result of the conflict its Effect, 
was the triumph of Arianism by the aid of imperial 
authority. The moment was full of meaning, not be- 
cause of the triumph of this or that doctrine, but because 
it brought the union of the empire and the Church a long 
step nearer. Julian, who sought to revive paganism 
and repress Christianity, was an interesting character, 
but his attempt was futile. In Christian annals he is 
branded as "the apostate." The emperors who foUowed 
favored the Church more and more. One of them, 
Gratian, withdrew all imperial support from the public 

*A remarkable illustration of this are our words "Pagan," which 
means "dweller in a village," and "Heathen," "dweller on the heath" 
or "country." Christianity made its way very slowly among the country 
people. Hence "Paganism" and "Heathenism" are used to signify the 
non-Christian religions of the ancient world. 



500 The Despotism 

worship of the heathen gods. In a.d. 392 Theodosius 
issued an edict forbidding all practice of the old religion. 
This date marks the formal downfall of paganism and 
the victory of Christianity in the Roman world. At the 
same time, this emperor exalted the orthodox doctrine; 
he forbade and punished Arianism and all other false 
teachings of the true faith. He practically made Chris- 
tianity the religion of the empire. Henceforth bishops 
and emperors joined hands for the rule of the Roman 
world. 

568. Union of Empire and Church. — Let us stop a 
moment to consider what this meant. In the ancient 
world, the part of religion was to serve the state. It was 
one of the elements of public life which made up the 
state. The ruler was the head of the religious system. 
But Christianity had grown up outside public life; it 
obeyed no earthly ruler; Jesus Christ, the son of God, 
was its supreme master. Hence, in uniting with the 
state, it came in as an equal, nay, rather, as representing 
The Victory a Lord to whom the emperor, too, must bow. Therefore, 
over the union of Christianity and the empire brought with it 

Empire. ^^^ victory of the Church over the empire. Before the 
authority of its Christ there could be no equal power. 
Hence, this moment in history reveals to us that we are 
approaching the border of a new age. The ancient world 
is passing away. 

The position occupied by the Church is illustrated by the famous 
"penance" of Theodosius. He had been stirred by a rebellious act 
of a mob in the city of Thessalonica to order the massacre of the 
inhabitants. At least seven thousand people perished. Ambrose, 
the bishop of Milan, was horrified by this crime. When Theodosius 
approached the church to worship, he was met by the bishop, who 



victory of Ckristianity 501 

forbade him entrance and laid before him the conditions on which 
God's pardon could be obtained. Taking off his royal robes, he 
must appear in the church as a penitent and beg for mercy from God. 
The emperor submitted, and, after eight months of probation, Am- 
brose absolved him from guilt and restored him to the communion 
of the Church. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What is the meaning of bishop, 
diocese, Orthodoxy, pagan, New Rome, labarum? 2, For 
what are the following famous: Ambrose, Gratian,Athanasius, 
Julian, Mithra? 3. What is the date of the Edict of Tolera- 
tion, of the Council of Nicaea ? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. What circumstances and con- 
ditions existed at this time to justify and make possible the 
despotism which did not exist in the time of Augustus? 2. 
Compare the position of Christianity in the state under Con- 
stantine to that of religion in the ancient oriental states 
(§§ 34). 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i. Diocletian's System: Its 
Success. Jones, pp. 354-362. 2. Diocletian's Reorganization 
of (a) The Army, Jones, pp. 365-369. (b) The Finances, Jones, 
pp. 369-372. (c) Espionage of Officials, Jones, pp. 372-373. 3. 
Constantine's Attitude toward Christianity. Jones, pp. 385- 
386, 388-389. 4. A New Capital. Jones, pp. 389-390. 5. The 
Tax System and Municipal Administration. Jones, pp. 392- 
395. 6. The New Social Orders. Jones, pp. 396-398. 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Reor- 
ganization of the Empire. Morey, ch. 28; Botsford, pp. 278- 
280, 2S5-288; Merivale, ch. 70; Gibbon, pp. 91-95, 132-143; 
Seignobos, pp. 390-392, 406-409. 2. Constantine and Christian- 
ity. Munro, p. 175 (source); Botsford, pp. 2S2-283; IMerivale, 
ch. 71; Gibbon, pp. 120-240. 3. The Edicts of the Emperors in 
Relation to Christianity. Munro, pp. 174-176 (sources); Gib- 
bon, pp. 118-119. 4. The Council of Nicsea. Seignobos, pp. 
400-401. 5. Julian and Pagan Learning. IMerivale, ch. 73; 
Seignobos, pp. 412-413; Gibbon, ch. 12. 6. Theodosius. Meri- 
vale, pp. 616-623; Seignobos, pp. 416-420; Gibbon, pp. 207-221. 
7. Constantinople and Rome. Munro, pp. 236-237 (source); 
Gibbon, pp. 123-132; Botsford, pp. 2S3-2S5; Merivale, pp. 587- 
590; Seignobos, pp. 403-404. 8. Society in the Fourth Century. 
Davis, .\n Outline History of the Roman Empire, pp. 192-195. 



502 End of the Ancient Period 

9.— THE BREAKING UP OF THE ROMAN 

EMPIRE AND THE END OF THE 

ANCIENT PERIOD 

A.D. 395-800 

569. The Last Four Centuries of Rome. — The four 
centuries a.d. 400-800 form the last great era of tran- 
sition in the history of the ancient world. Everything 
was in confusion; everywhere ancient races were yield- 
ing to fresh and vigorous peoples, old and established 
forms of organization were breaking down and new in- 
stitutions were forming to correspond to the new life. 
The struggle was long, the changes slow in taking place, 
but the end was the transformation of the old world into 
the Middle Age. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY * 

For bibliography for advanced students and teachers, see Appendix I. 
Church. The Beginning of the Middle Ages. Scribners. Not a new 

book, but by an admirable scholar and of permanent value for the 

period a.d. 400-800. 
Dill. Roman Society in the Last Century of the Roman Empire. Mac- 

millan. An interesting and helpful work, particularly for teachers. 
Emerton. Introduction to the Middle Ages. Ginn and Co. The 

clearest and the most illuminating account of the transitional period. 
Robinson. History of Western Europe. Ginn and Co. An excellent 

book, especially strong on the social elements of the history. 
Thatcher and Schwill. A General History of Europe. Scribners. 

The early chapters have a full and spirited account of the decline 

of the empire and the rise of the barbarian kingdoms. 

570. The Barbarian Deluge. — The death of Theo- 
dosius placed the administration of the empire in the 
hands of his two sons. Arcadius received the eastern 

* For previous bibliographies, see §§ 5a, 89a, 338a, 481. 



Vlsigoth.s and Vandals 503 

portion, Honorius the west. Both were young and in- 
capable. Meanwhile the flood of Germanic invasion 
which in the course of the following century was to over- 
whelm the fairest provinces of the western empire had 
already begun. The Visigoths (West Goths), fleeing 
before the Huns, who had already conquered the Ostro- 
goths (East Goths) settled for a time in Dacia, but 
with the consent of the Roman ofScers they crossed the 
Danube in the reign of Valens. Feeling misused by 
their hosts, they rose in rebellion and in the bloody battle 
of Adrianople (378 a.d.) they slew the emperor himself 
and destroyed his army. The best that Theodosius could 
do was to leave them in Moesia where only his strong arm 
restrained their further movements. Meanwhile, Van- 
dals, Suevi, Burgundians, Alamanni and Franks burst 
into the western provinces. The very year of the death Visigoths, 
of Theodosius (a.d. 395), the Visigoths rose under Al- 
aric, their chieftain, and marched into Greece, Seven 
years later they attacked Italy. Stiri-cho, the general of 
Honorius, successfully resisted them, until, out of jeal- 
ousy and fear, he was murdered by his royal master. 
Then Al'a-ric was able to overrun Italy and even to capt- 
ure Rome (a.d. 410). It was in this crisis that the Ro- 
man legions departed from Britain, leaving it exposed to 
the attacks of the Picts and Scots. The Suevi had pene- Vandais. 
trated into Spain, where they were followed by the Van- 
dals. Upon the death of Alaric, the Visigoths left Italy 
and moved westward into Spain, where they set up a king- 
dom (a.d. 412) which was to last for three hundred years. 
The Vandals retired before them into Africa (a.d. 429), 
where they captured Carthage ten years later and therein 
established a kino;dom under their shrewd and enter- 



504 End of the Ancient Period 

prising leader Gai'ser-ic. As if this were not enough, the 
cause of this tremendous upheaval of the German tribes 
now appeared on the scene in the advance of the Huns, 
a people of alien race and strange manners, wild savage 
warriors, rushing down out of the far northeast from 
their homes in Central Asia. Under their king, At'ti-la, 
they were united and organized into a formidable host, 
which included also Germans and Slavs. Attila had 
no less a purpose than to overthrow the Roman empire 
and set up a new Hunnish state upon its ruins. " Though 
a barbarian, Attila was by no means a savage. He prac- 
tised the arts of diplomacy, often sent and received em- 
bassies and respected the international laws and customs 
which then existed." After ravaging the east as far as 
the Euphrates, he turned to the west, crossed the Rhine 
and invaded Gaul. There he was met by an imperial 
army under Aetius and was defeated and turned back in 
a fierce struggle at the "Catalaunian Fields" (Chalons) 
in A.D. 451, which is justly regarded as one of the de- 
cisive battles of history. The next year he penetrated 
into Italy and the destruction of Rome seemed imminent, 
but mysteriously the heathen king stayed his advance 
on the receipt of the message from Pope Leo the Great: 
"Thus far and no farther." In 453 A.D. he died, and 
with his death his vast empire dissolved and the Hun- 
nish peril was over. 

571. Weaklings on the Throne. — The emperors dur- 
ing this period were weak men and ineffective rulers, 
often set up and always upheld by their armies, which 
were made up almost entirely of Germans and led by men 
of the same race. Stilicho was a Vandal. Ric'i-mer, 
another imperial general, was a Suevian. The emperors 



Fall of Western Empire 505 

of the west emphasized still more their importance by 
placing the seat of government at Ra-ven'na, an almost 
inaccessible fortress on the Adriatic sea. The rest of 
Italy might suffer from the marches and contests of rival 
armies, while they were secure. Thus they beheld, in 
A.D. 455, the capture and sack of Rome by Gaiseric, the 
Vandal king of Africa, repeated in a.d. 472 by Ricimer. 
Following Honorius, a succession of nine weaklings kept 
up a pretence of imperial rule, until Romulus Augustu- 
Lus, a mere boy, was set upon the throne. His Ger- Faii of 
man mercenaries, irritated by a refusal to grant them Ei^p^^e'^ 
lands on which to settle, took as their leader O'do-va'car, 
the Rugian, captured the emperor and forced him to 
resign his ofi&ce (a.d. 476). Then the imperial insignia 
were sent to the emperor of the east, Zeno, who thus be- 
came sole emperor and appointed Odovacar governor of 
Italy. In fact the latter ruled Italy as a king, while, as 
we have seen (§ 570), other parts of the west did not even 
formally acknowledge the emperor's authority. For this 
reason the year a.d. 476 is often regarded as a turning 
point in the history of Rome as marking the fall of the 
Western Empire. 

.572. Ostrogoths in Italy. — But peace was still far off. 
The Ostrogoths, who lived an unsettled and warring life 
in the Danubian provinces of the eastern emperor, set 
out, under their leader, The-od'o-ric, to contest with Odo- 
vacar the possession of Italy. The struggle ended with 
Theodoric as victor and king of Italy. He ruled it for 
more than thirty years (a.d. 493-526), wisely and pros- 
perously. "He restored the aqueducts and walls of 
many cities, repaired the roads, drained marshes, re- 
opened mines, cared for public buildings, promoted 



506 End of the Ancient Period 

agriculture, established markets, preserved the peace, 
administered justice strictly and enforced the laws. By 
intermarriages and treaties he tried to maintain peace 
between all the neighboring German kingdoms, that they 
might not mutually destroy each other." * Nominally 
a subject of the emperor, he was in reality sole lord of 
Italy. 

573. Influence of Rome on Invaders. — It must not 
be thought that these waves of barbarian invasion com- 
pletely shattered the structure of Roman politics and 
society. Such attacks on the borders had been going on 
for centuries. Multitudes of Germans had already been 
settled in the provinces. The armies were almost entirely 
made up of them. They were found in numbers in the 
ofhces of the imperial administration and in close touch 
with the court of the emperor. Not only had the splen- 
dor and the strength of the empire, its civilization and 
its wealth, attracted them, but they had been deeply 
influenced by it. Many of them had been converted to 
Christianity. We can, therefore, understand the famous 
saying of one Gothic chieftain, that once, in his youth, 
he had the ambition to overthrow the Roman power, 
but now his highest ambition was to sustain the law and 
order of Rome by the swords of the Goths. Accord- 
ingly, the moment these invaders reached their goal, 
they fell into the ways of Rome. They came not to de- 
stroy, but to enter into the Roman heritage. They were 
proud to be made the bulwark and support of its civiliza- 
tion and even of its throne. Thus, it was not long be- 
fore the superior culture, the organizing and civilizing 
power of old Rome, worked them over and they settled 

* Thatcher and Schwill, A General History of Europe, p. 27. 



Justinian 507 

down to maintain the most substantial parts of the im- 
perial structure. This appears most clearly in their laws, 
which were gathered up into codes that show the deep 
influence of Roman law. 

574. The Imperial Reaction. — With the passing of the 
fifth century, the empire, sorely smitten in the storms 
of barbarian invasion, raised its head and asserted its 
ancient authority over the Roman world. A series of Justinian 
able rulers in the east prepared the way for the brilliant 

and vigorous reign of Justinian (a.d. 527-565). Under 
him the imperial armies were again victorious, and ter- 
ritories lost for a time were again united to the empire. 
His able generals were Belisarius, a Thracian, and Narses, 
an Armenian; under their skilful administration and 
admirable generalship, the army was reorganized and 
led out successfully to recover lost territory. In a.d. 534 Military 
Africa was won back from the Vandals. In 553, after Achieve- 

ments. 

a long and fiercely contested struggle, Italy was rescued 
from the Ostrogoths. The Visigoths were deprived of 
parts of Spain. The German tribes on the Danube, as 
well as the Avars, who were related to the Huns, were 
kept in check. The Persians in the east were less suc- 
cessfully resisted. 

575. Peaceful Victories. — The achievements of Jus- 
tinian in more peaceful spheres were equally splendid. 
He was occupied with building, with law and theology, 
with commerce and manufactures, as well as with war. 
In architecture and painting he is renowned for the won- 
derful cathedral of St. Sophia in Constantinople. " When 
one enters into this church to pray," says a contemporary 
of the great emperor, "one feels at once that it is not the 
work of human power and industry, but rather the work 



508 



End of the Ancient Period 



The Code 
of Jus- 
tinian. 



Centred in 
Constanti- 
nople. 



of God himself; and the spirit, rising up to heaven, under- 
stands that here God is quite near and that he rejoices 
in the dwelling-place which he himself has chosen." In 
law, he is immortalized in the code which bears his 
name. To do away with the inconsistencies and con- 
tradictions which existed among the laws of the empire, 
he appointed a commission with Tribonian at its head 
to collect, harmonize and arrange them. The result 
was the famous Code of Justinian. "Besides the laws, 
the opinions, explanations and decisions of famous 
judges were collected (§ 549). As in the practice of law 
to-day, much regard was had for precedent and decisions 
of similar cases, and these were brought together from 
all quarters in a collection called the Digest (Pandects). 
For the use of the law students, a treatise on the general 
principles of Roman law was prepared, which was called 
the Institutes. Justinian carefully kept the laws which 
he himself promulgated, and afterward published them 
under the title of Novellae." * 

576. The Continued Influence of the Empire. — Thus 
once more, under the guidance of Justinian, the Ro- 
man empire proved itself a power in the earth. And 
though its newly recovered provinces were soon lost, it 
long continued on its way a light and a fruitful source 
of culture to the world. The wisdom of Constantine's 
choice of New Rome for its capital was proved. Behind 
its impregnable walls, the city was able to bid defiance 
to barbarian assailants and to send forth again and again 
its armies to regain its lost territories. Its unrivalled 
commercial advantages drew irresistibly the trade of the 
world, and riches continued to flow into it, while learning 

* Thatcher and Schwill, A General History of Europe, p. 36. 



The Byzanti7ie Einpire 509 

and culture found refuge and encouragement within its 
bulwarks. When the west succumbed to barbarian in- 
vasions and within its borders Roman civilization faded 
out and disappeared, it was revived and renewed by the 
influences which went forth from the eastern capital. Its 
citizens were alert and progressive, combining the gifts 
of Greek and Roman; its palaces were many and mag- 
nificent. Above all, it was the centre of a Christian life 
and thought, which transformed the hordes of eastern 
and northern barbarians that settled on its borders. 
A sense of nationality was aroused among the motley 
populations that fell under its spell; Byzantine imperi- 
alism, by infusing ancient Graeco-Roman forms with the 
Christian spirit brought to the support of the state the 
fanaticism hitherto existent only for the church. 

577. The New Persian Peril. — The occasion for this 
alliance was the advance to the Mediterranean and even 
to Cyrene of the great Sassanid monarch, Chosroes 
(Kos'-roz) , who threatened to extirpate both the Grgeco- 
Roman state and the Christian religion. The hero of a 
war which assumed the character of a religious crusade 
was Heraclius (a.d. 610-641) who drove the Per- 
sians back into the interior of Asia. His triumph, how- 
ever, was brief. At this point a new religion appeared 
in the orient and was spread by force of arms throughout 
the eastern world. This was Mohammedanism. 

578. Mohammed.— In far Arabia, on the southwestern 
side, near the Red sea, lay the city of Mecca, a sacred 
shrine of Arabian heathenism and a centre of trade for 
the wandering tribes of the desert. Here, about a.d. 
570, was born, in poverty but of a noble family, Mo- 
hammed, who was to be the founder of a religious and a 



Faith. 



510 End of the Ancient Period 

political power of wide extent and influence. As he 
grew up and came somewhat in contact with the world 
without, he became deeply impressed with the idolatry 
His New and wicked practices of his people. Of a highly sensi- 
tive nature, perhaps in early life a prey to some nervous 
disease, he felt himself in a vision called to be the prophet 
of Allah, the supreme god of the Arabs. After long 
trial and struggle, in the course of which, in 622 a.d., 
occurred the flight (He-gi'ra) * from Mecca to Me-di'na, 
the Arabs were won for his doctrine. Mohammed 
founded a church, and his utterances, which Allah com- 
missioned him to speak, were gathered into a sacred 
book, the Koran, the law and gospel of his followers. 
He claimed to be the supreme prophet of God, and, 
therefore, all men were called upon to obey his word. 
To the emperor and to the Persian king he sent his mes- 
sengers calling for submission to God and his prophet. 
When he died (a.d. 632), his followers were ready to go 
forth to the conquest of the world on behalf of the true 
faith. 

579. Spread of Mohammedanism. — Despite the vigor 
of Heraclius the fanaticism of the Mohammedans car- 
ried all before it. Syria and Egypt were lost. A Mo- 
hammedan capital was established at Damascus, from 
which the successors of the prophet, called Caliphs, 
ruled over a wide empire that included Persia, Arabia, 
Syria and Egypt. They entered Asia Minor, and in a.d. 
673 appeared before the walls of Constantinople. They 
were repulsed, but the empire had forever lost its eastern 
provinces. 

* His followers still use this date as a point for reckoning time as wp 
do the birth of Christ. 



Mohammedans and Franks 511 

Filled with missionary zeal and warlike fury, the Mo- 
hammedans pressed westward along the northern coast 
of Africa and added it to their empire. Thence they 
crossed over into Spain, and in a.d. 711 overthrew the 
kingdom of the Visigoths (§ 570). From there they 
advanced into Gaul. It seemed as though the western 
Roman world, like the eastern, was to fall into their 
power. But the force that held them in check had been 
growing strong during these same centuries on Gallic 
soil. This was the kingdom of the Franks, to the his- 
tory of which we now turn. 

580. The Franks. — The Franks had advanced but 
slowly into the empire, appearing first on the lower 
Rhine. Thus they kept in touch with their German 
brethren and renewed their native vigor by constant ad- 
ditions from the old stock. In a.d. 481 a petty tribal Kingdom 
king, Clovis, united the Frankish tribes under his author- 
ity, defeated a Roman governor and took possession of 
upper Gaul. From here he pushed eastward and con- 
quered the Alamanni. Still unsatisfied, he drove the 
Visigoths from southern Gaul into Spain and overcame 

the Burgundians to the southeast. At his death, in 
A.D; 511, the kingdom of the Franks stretched from the 
Pyrenees and the ocean to beyond the Rhine. His sons 
extended the kingdom eastward in Germany to a point 
beyond the farthest conquests of the Romans. In time 
this territory was divided up between members of the 
royal house, and two kingdoms appeared, Austrasia in 
the east and Neustria in the west. 

581. Rise of Mayor of the Palace. — ^The Frankish 
nobility, like many ancient aristocracies in states just 
emerging from the tribal conditions (i^ io6j, succeeded 



512 End of the Ancient Period 

in course of time in gaining more and more power over 
the king. The way in which this took place, however, 
was pecuHar. An important officer of the royal house- 
hold was the major domus, or "mayor of the palace," 
through whom admission to the king's presence was 
secured. The noble families were able to put in this 
position men from their own body and thus to control 
the king. The major domus possessed royal authority 
though he did not have the royal name. The kings were 
mere figureheads, "do-nothing-kings." 

A contemporary thus describes them. "Nothing was left to the 
king except the kingly name; with long hair and flowing beard, he 
sat on the throne to receive envoys from all quarters, but it was 
only to give them the answers which he was bidden to give. His 
kingly title was an empty shadow, and the allowance for his support 
depended on the pleasure of the mayor of the palace. The king 
possessed nothing of his own but one poor farm with a house on it, 
and a scanty number of attendants, to pay him necessary service and 
respect. He went abroad in a wagon drawn by oxen, and guided 
by a herdsman in the country fashion; thus was he brought to the 
palace or to the annual assemblies of the people for the affairs of the 
realm; thus he went home again. But the government of the king- 
dom, and all business, foreign or domestic, were in the hands of the 
mayors of the palace." 

582. Charles Martel.— One of the mayors of the pal- 
ace of the Austrasian kingdom. Pippin by name, con- 
quered Neustria and Burgundy, and when he died, left 
the domains thus gained to his son, Charles Martel (a.d. 
Battle of 714), his successor in the mayoral office. The new ruler 
confronted the advancing Mohammedans and defeated 
them near Tours in a.d. 732. They retreated into Spain, 
and, owing to disturbances in the Mohammedan empire, 



Tours. 



Growth of the Church 513 

no further attempt was made to extend their power be- • 
yond the Pyrenees. The possible fate of western Chris- 
tendom, if the victory had been gained by the Moham- 
medans, has placed the battle of Tours among the world's 
decisive battles, 

583. Growth of the Church. — During these centuries, 
which had seen the barbarian deluge, the establish- 
ment of barbarian kingdoms, the revival of the em- 
pire and the rise of Mohammedanism, one imperial in- 
stitution, the Christian church, had suffered the least 
and perhaps had gained the most. Since its recognition 
as the religion of the state, it had advanced rapidly. 
Its ministers became imperial officials and its religious 
enactm.ents in its great councils had imperial authority. 
Among its leaders were men of learning and eloquence, Leaders, 
whose writings have deeply affected the history of Chris- 
tian thought. John Chrys'os-tom (''he of the golden chrysos. 
mouth") was one of the most powerful preachers of his '°'°" 
age (a.d. 347-407). As patriarch of Constantinople, 
he was the idol of the people for his eloquence and the 
aversion of the court for his fearless denunciation of vice 
and hypocrisy. He was twice banished by the empe- 
ror.. Jerome (about a.d. 346-420) was the most learned jerome. 
man of his time. His services to the church are twofold: 
(i) He translated the Bible into Latin so successfully, 
that with some modifications his translation, called the 
Vulgate,* remained the accepted version of the Latin 
church. (2) He aided powerfully the "monastic" move- Monasti 
ment. Very early in the history of Christianity its fol- ^^^^' 
lowers, coming into contact with the Roman world that 
in their eyes was evil and that also persecuted them, 

* Latin, Vidgata, i. c, "in common use." 



514 End of the Ancient Pe?iod 

were moved to flee from it, to hide in the deserts or other 
solitary places, that thus they might escape from tempta- 
tions and trials, and be enabled to live a worthier life. 
The men who followed this impulse were called "as- 
cetics." When Christianity became the religion of the 
empire, the reason for this mode of life changed some- 
what. Now it was thought to be the one means of ob- 
taining a higher kind of goodness; it was a method of 
reaching perfection of character. Soon such persons, 
who had fled from the world, found that they could better 
gain these ends by living together in secluded commu- 
nities. Men and women had separate establishments; 
they were called "monks" and "nuns" respectively.* 
All the church leaders praised and encouraged this mode 
of life and it soon became immensely popular. Jerome 
fervently preached and rigorously practised the monastic 
life and succeeded in inducing many wealthy and noble 
women to take it up. Such persons refused to marry, de- 
voted their wealth to charity, ate coarse and scanty food 
and dressed in the simplest way. Jerome went so far 
as to denounce the study of heathen literature, even the 
Augustine, noblcst works of antiquity. The greatest of the Chris- 
tian leaders of the age was Augustine, bishop of Hippo 
in Africa (a.d. 354-430). Trained in the best culture of 
the day, he devoted his powerful mind to the defence 
and upbuilding of orthodox Christianity. He wrote in- 
numerable books, the greatest of which was The City of 
God. This book was inspired by the capture of Rome by 
Alaric (§ 570), and compared the splendid city of the 
empire, now fallen, with the true spiritual capital of 

* The words "monk," "monastery" and "monasticism" come from 
the Greek word monos, meaning "alone," "separate." 



Power of the Pope 515 

mankind, the Christian church. Its eloquence and its 
logic, its splendid survey of the past, and its prophetic 
insight into the future have given this work a place among 
the classics of all time. 

584. Increased Importance of the Roman Church. — 
In the general progress of the church especial promi- 
nence was secured to the church and bishop of Rome. 
In the troubles that fell upon Italy this church was fore- 
most in asserting the power of Christianity and in repre- 
senting its spirit. Its bishops were the friends and 
helpers of the oppressed, the fearless opponents of in- 
justice and cruelty. They also secured recognition for 
their own claims to superior position among Christian 
churches (§555). Leo I, the Great (a.d. 440-461), Leo the 
obtained an imperial decree (a.d. 445) commanding all ^"^'' 
the bishops of the west to recognize the supreme head- 
ship of the Roman bishop and to receive his word as law. 
It is true that a little later a church council declared that Spiritual 
the bishop of Constantinople was the equal of the Ro- "*^°"'y 
man and that both were to be superior to all others. 
But, as the western church, now slowly separating from 
the eastern, refused to accept this ruling, the Roman su- 
premacy was established. It has been well said that with 
Leo (§ 570) the history of the papacy began. The Roman 
bishop became "pope" of the church in the west with the 
claim to be the head of all Christendom. Likewise, as an Temporal 
imperial official, he had authority over the territory about ^°^^''- 
Rome, and this he exercised to its fullest extent during the 
dark years of the fifth century. He " watched over the 
election of the city officials and directed in what manner 
the public money should be spent. He had to manage 
and defend the great tracts of land in different parts of 



516 



End of the Ancient Period 



Gregory 
the Great. 



Boniface. 



Italy which, from time to time, had been given to the 
bishopric of Rome. He negotiated with the Germans 
and even directed the generals sent against them." * 
Thus, as the empire declined, his power grew in two 
directions: (i) in spiritual headship over western Chris- 
tendom; (2) in worldly, or temporal, authority over 
parts of the empire. 

585. Conversion of the Barbarians. — As leader of 
western Christendom the papacy entered upon the most 
important task of winning the barbarians for the true 
faith. Some of these peoples were already Christians, 
although in the Arian form (§ 567). Others were still 
pagan. In the work of conversion the popes employed 
the monks, whose freedom from family ties and zeal 
for the Gospel made them admirable instruments for 
this purpose. The leading spirit in this movement was 
Pope Gregory I (a.d. 590-604), to whom is due the send- 
ing of a missionary monk to England. Its result was not 
merely conversion of the Angles and Saxons who had 
entered and occupied the land, but their acceptance of 
the primacy of the pope. Another famous missionary 
whom the popes sent out was Boniface (a.d. 718), through 
whose labors the Germans across the Rhine were con- 
verted and churches organized among them. 

586. The Franks and the Faith.— The Franks, how- 
ever, were to prove the most potent allies of the popes in 
their progress toward headship in the west. Clovis em- 
braced orthodox Christianity on the occasion of his vic- 
tory over the Alamanni (§ 580), and ranged his people 
on the side of the papacy. Christianity flourished ex- 
ceedingly among them, although the purity of life among 

* Robinson, History of Western Europe, p. 52. 



Pope and Franks 517 

the priests and bishops was not on a par with that of the 
doctrine. When, however, Boniface, having completed 
his, labors among the Germans, sought to reform the 
Frankish church, he found a helper in Charles Martel. 
The decisive step was taken in a.d. 748, seven years after Acceptance 
this king's death, when the bishops of Gaul agreed to supremacy, 
uphold the orthodox faith and obey the commands of 
the pope at Rome. Thus the strongest force in the new 
world was won for Christ and the Roman church. 
Henceforth the history of the Franks and the papacy were 
inseparably connected. 

When Charles Martel died, his mayorial power was 
handed on to his sons, Carloman and Pippin. The 
former soon retired to a monastery, leaving Pippin alone 
in the office. "Deeming that the time was now ripe, 
Pippin laid his plans for obtaining the royal title. He 
sent an embassy to Rome to ask Pope Zacharias who 
should be king; the one who had the title without the 
power, or the one who had the power without the title. 
The pope, who was looking abroad for an ally, replied Pippin, 
that it seemed to him that the one who had the power the°Fr°anks. 
should also be king; and acting on this, Pippin called an 
assembly of his nobles at Soissons (a.d. 751), deposed the 
last phantom king of the older line, and was himself 
elected and anointed king." * 

587. The Lombards.— This alliance between Roman 
pope and Frankish king soon had practical results. The 
pope found his temporal authority (§ 584) threatened by 
the Lombards. This people had entered Italy soon 
after the Ostrogoths had been overcome by the Emperor 
Justinian. By a.d. 568 they were in possession of north 

* Thatcher and Schwill, .1 General History of Europe, p. 47. 



518 



End of the Ancient Period 



Emperor. 



Italy with their capital at Pavia. Then, in separate 
bands, they spread southward, settling here and there, 
conquering large parts; only Ravenna, the seat of ,the 
emperor's representative, the exarch, and the district 
about Rome were able to maintain themselves. When, 
however, the Lombards united under a king, the pope 
The Pope's fouud himsclf hard pressed. He appealed to his over- 
th^e'^Eastern lord and natural protector, the Emperor Leo, the Isau- 
rian (a.d. 717-740), in the east. But the latter had intro- 
duced a violent controversy into his realm by command- 
ing the removal from Christian churches of all images as 
tending to encourage idolatry. His violence in enforcing 
this command gained him the name of Iconoclast 
("Image-breaker"). The pope refused to obey the de- 
cree and was supported by the western churches. Thus 
the fellowship between the two was broken off and no 
help came from the east. The pope turned to the west 
and appealed to Pippin to deliver him. "Pippin made 
two campaigns into Italy and compelled the Lombards to 
cede to the pope a strip of territory which lay to the south 
of them (a.d. 755). This marks the beginning of the 
temporal sovereignty of the pope. He was freed from the 
eastern emperor, and recognized as the political as well 
as the ecclesiastical ruler of Rome and its surrounding 
territory, under the overlordship of Pippin, who had the 
title of Patricius." * The Lombards were made tribu- 
tary to the Prankish king. 

588. Accession of Charlemagne. — His two sons. Carlo- 
man and Carl, succeeded to the kingdom on Pippin's 
death (a.d. 768). The former's early death left Carl 
sole king. He is the first prominent figure of the times 

* Thatcher and Schwill, A General History of Europe, p. 130. 



Pippin His 
Savior. 



Pope and Charlemagne 519 

of whom we know something distinct and detailed. The 
reason for this is not far to seek. With him the old world 
passed away and the new world stepped into its place. 
To later ages he was Carl the Great, Carolus Magnus, 
whence the common form, Charlemagne. His personal 
appearance is described to us by his contemporaries. 

589. Appearance of Charlemagne. — Wecopytheadmirableconden- 
sation of this description made by Robinson: "He was tall and stoutly 
built: his face was round, his eyes were large and keen, his nose 
somewhat above the common size, his expression bright and cheerful. 
Whether he stood or sat, his form was full of dignity; for the good 
proportion and grace of his body prevented the observer from 
noticing that his neck was rather short and his person somewhat too 
stout. . . . His step was firm and his aspect manly; his voice was 
clear but rather weak for so large a body. He was active in all 
bodily exercises, delighted in riding and hunting, and was an expert 
swimmer. His excellent health and his physical alertness and en- 
durance can alone explain the astonishing swiftness with which he 
moved about his vast realm and conducted innumerable campaigns 
in widely distant regions in startlingly rapid succession." 

590. His Relations with the Pope. — With the details 
of the organizing activity of Charlemagne or with the 
way in which he corrected and expanded the frontiers of 
his empire, the student of ancient history does not need to 
acquaint himself. The king's relations to Italy and the 
pope alone require attention. A noteworthy feature in 
this connection is the conquest and Christianizing of the 
Saxons. The troubles of the papacy with the Lombards 
continued in his time, until, on the appeal of the pope, 
he entered Italy, conquered the Lombards, made himself 
their king (a.d. 774) and restored to the pope his terri- 
tories. When a party in Rome sought to deprive Pope 
Leo III of his temporal authority and drove him from 



520 End of the Ancient Period 

the city, he again appealed to Charlemagne, who rein- 
stated him.- A service of thanksgiving was held in St. 
Peter's Church on Christmas Day, a.d. 800, at which 
Charlemagne was present. While the king was kneeling 
before the altar, the pope placed upon his head the im- 
perial crown and hailed him "Emperor of the Romans." 

591. Crowning of Charlemague. — A Prankish chronicle 
gives the following reasons for this act which seems to 
have taken Charlemagne by surprise. 

"The name of emperor had ceased among the Greeks, for they 
were enduring the reign of a woman [Irene], wherefore it seemed 
good both to Leo, the apostolic pope, and to the holy fathers [the 
bishops] who were in council with him, and to all Christian men, 
that they should name Charles, king ' of the Franks, as emperor. 
For he held Rome itself, where the ancient Caesars had always dwelt, 
in addition to all his other possessions in Italy, Gaul and Germany. 
Wherefore, as God had granted him all these dominions, it seemed 
just to all that he should take the title of emperor, too, when it 
was offered to him at the wish of all Christendom." 

592. What This Act Means. — This assumption of the 
imperial title by Charlemagne has two aspects, (i) In 
one sense it is only a continuation of the past. The 
years of confusion in the west were over and a well- 
ordered state came into existence, embracing in its unity 
the old imperial provinces, and ruling in the name of 
Rome, a name hallowed by centuries of splendid history. 
So it was looked upon at the time. Charlemagne was 
regarded as a successor of the line of eastern emperors.* 
But (2) in a more important sense it was entirely new. 
A new race, a barbarian people, upheld the imperial 

* The Empress Irene was on the throne, and it was regarded as a 
disgrace that the imperial seat should be occupied by a woman. 



A New Era 521 

throne and were represented in its occupant. The old 
Roman blood and institutions were swallowed up in the 
Teutonic. Even more significant is the union of this 
new imperial people with the Christian church. More- 
over, in the east the Semitic 'Arabs, inspired with zeal 
" for a new faith, had forced back almost to the walls of 
Constantinople the eastern empire, now shorn of its an- 
cient strength. Such a breaking up of the past institu- a New Era. 
tions and such a combination of new historical forces 
introduces us to a new order and indicates that the an- 
cient world has passed away and another world is rising 
on its ruins. 

REVIEW EXERCISES, i. What do Alaric, Attila, Gaiseric, 
Theodoric, Clovis stand for? 2. Why are the following im- 
portant: Catalaunian Fields, Code of Justinian, exarch. 
Tours? 3. What has rendered the following famous : Jerome, 
Charles Martel, Gregory, Justinian, Stilicho, Augustine? 4. 
What is the date of the fall of the Western Empire, of the 
death of Mohammed, of the battle of Tours^ of the crowning 
of Charlemagne? 

COMPARATIVE STUDIES, i. Compare Charlemagne and Con- 
stantine. 2. Compare the origin and growth of Mohamme- 
danism and of Christianity. 3. In what was the relation of 
the barbarians to the empire like that of Philip of Macedon 
to the Greeks (§§ 272, 27S, 279)? 4. Compare the rise of the 
Franks with the rise of the Roman state. 

SELECT LIST FOR READING, i, Julian, the Last of Constan- 
tine's House. Jones, pp. 403-40S. 2, The Arian Controversy. 
Jones, pp. 409-417. 3, The Invasions of the Empire. Jones, 
pp. 420-424, 429-434 4, The Barbarians as Makers of History. 
Boniface, Jones, pp. 436-438; Attila, Jones, pp. 440-443; Ricimer 
and Odovacar, Jones, pp. 444-446. 5, The Decay of the Mid- 
dle Class, Dill, Last Century of the Western Empire, pp. 245- 
281. 6, Roman Feeling about Barbarian Invasions. Dill, 
pp. 303-345. 7. Relations of Romans and Invaders. Dill, pp. 
346-382. 



52!^ E7id of the Ancient Period 

TOPICS FOR READING AND ORAL REPORT, i. The Ger- 
mans and Their Culture. Laing, pp. 401-409 (source); Seigno- 
bos, pp. 440, 441; Botsford, pp. 293-296. 2. The Visigoths and 
Alaric. Seignobos, pp. 421-425, 442; Gibbon, pp. 226-238; Bots- 
ford, pp. 297-303. 3. The Ostrogoths and Theodoric. Botsford, 
pp. 312-315; Seignobos, pp. 444-446. 4. The Vandals and 
Gaiseric. Botsford, pp. 303-306; Seignobos, pp. 429, 442. 5. ■ 
The Conquest of Britain. Botsford, pp. 321-322. 6. The Huns 
and Attila, Merivale, pp. 648-651; Seignobos, pp. 427-429; Gib- 
bon, pp. 200-203, 251-263. 7. The Lombards. Gibbon, pp. 
378-383; Botsford, pp. 319-321; Seignobos, pp. 446-447. 8. 
Theodoric. Gibbon, ch. 19. 9. Justinian and the Eastern 
Empire. Gibbon, chs. 20-22; Seignobos, pp. 449-456. 10. The 
Decay of Society — Causes and Course. Seignobos, pp. 432-438. 
II. The Fathers of the Church. Morey, p. 324. 12. Rise of 
the Roman Church. Gibbon, pp. 383-384; Seignobos, pp. 460- 
465. 13. The Iconoclasts. Gibbon, pp. 428-432. 14. Monas- 
ticism. Seignobos, pp. 465-467. 15. Mohammed. Gibbon, 
pp. 451-465; Seignobos, pp. 467-471. 16. The Victories of 
Mohammedanism. Gibbon, pp. 465-483; Seignobos, pp. 471- 
475. 17. The Rise of the Franks. Seignobos, pp. 443-444; 
Botsford, pp. 322-328; Gibbon, pp. 274-277. 18. Charlemagne. 
Seignobos, pp. 479-4S5; Botsford, pp. 328-331. 

GENERAL REVIEW OF PART III, DIVISIONS 7=9 

44 B.c.-.\.n. 800 

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION, i. Follow the different 
steps in the relation of the emperor to the institutions of the 
republic (§§ 483, 484, 496, 506, 512, 515, 536, 546, 549, 556, 557). 
2. Progress in the administrative organization of the empire 
(§§ 507, 537, 539, 546, 556, 576). 3- External causes tending 
to weaken the empire (§§ 487, 53S, 552, 553, 570, 573, 577). 
4. Internal causes tending to weaken the empire (§§ 496, 498, 
499, 523, 539, 551, 560, 568, 571). 5. The problem of the suc- 
cession in its various stages (§§ 499, 512, 536, 546, 556). 
6. Stages in the organization of Christianity (§§ 527, 545^ 
555, 567, 568, 583, 584). 7. Important dates in the history 
of the empire. 8. A chronological list of the invasions of 
the barbarians. 9. Trace the gradual separation of the em- 
pire into an eastern and a western part (§§ 556, 562, 564, 565, 
567, 570, 571, 576, 584, 586, 587.) 



General Review 5i23 

PICTURE EXERCISES, i. With Plate XXV before you, compare 
the figures and note differences of artistic and historical im- 
portance. 2. On Plates XXVII and XXVIII compare coins 6 
and 8 with coins g and 14. What important differences are 
seen? 3. Compare coins 11 and 13. Bearing in mind whose 
coins these are, what historical conclusions can you draw? 4. 
Compare Plates XXXVIII and XL to register the advance or 
decline in artistic character. 5. Why have Plates XX and XL 
decided differences in subject and style? 6. On Plate XXX 
study head 6; does this style suit the man? How? 7. Why 
are the illustrations of Plates XXXVI, XXXVII and XXXIX 
characteristic of Rome? 8. What does Plate XXXIII tell us 
of Roman life in the first century a.d.? 9. Find other pictures 
like Plate XXXI. 10. Wherein does Plate XXXIV differ from 
Plate XIX. 

SUBJECTS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS, i. The City of Rome 
under the Empire. Merivale, ch. 79. 2. The Persecutions 
of the Christians. Munro, pp. 164-176 (sources); Univ. of Pa. 
Translations, Vol. IV, No. i; Gibbon, ch. 9; Seignobos, pp. 366- 
372. 3. The History of Roman Law. Gibbon, ch. 23. 4. 
Rome in Juvenal's Time from His Own Report. Laing, pp. 
433-449 (translation). 5. What the German Gave to the Roman 
and Received from Him. See Select List § 592. 6. An Account 
of the Parthian Kingdom, Its History and Relations to Rome. 
Encyclopedia Britannica, Article. "Persia" (the part dealing witli 
Parthia). 7. A Letter from Pliny to Tacitus Describing His 
Own Life and Activities, Interests, Pleasures, etc. Laing, pp. 
451-471 (contains translations of Pliny's letters); The Atlantic, June, 
1886; Thomas, Roman Life under the Caesars, ch. 14. 8. The Gifts 
of Rome to Human Civilization. Morey, ch. 30. 9. An Ac- 
count of the Historical Event Suggested by Plate XXXIII. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

The Orient 

B.C. 

?298o-2475. Old Egyptian Kingdom (Capital at Memphis) : Khufu and 
the Pyramids; rise of Thebes. 

?2i6o-i788. Middle Egyptian Kingdom (Capital at Thebes): feudal 
organization; Nubia subdued; contact with Crete; internal im- 
provements; coming of the Hyksos. 

?25oo. Sargon of Accad. 

?i95o. Hammurabi of Babylon; old Babylonian Empire; code of Lawc. 

1580-1150. Egyptian (New) Empire (Capital mostly at Thebes): the 
eighteenth dynasty; campaigns in Asia; first great empire in 
history; commerce with Babylonia, Syria, ^Egean; Egyptian 
remains in Crete and Mycenae; Seti I (conflicts with the Hit- 
tites); Ramses II (wars with the Hittites); great hall at Kar- 
nak completed; decadence. 

745-727. Tiglathpileser III makes Assyria first power of ancient world. 

722-705. Sargon II: Assyria at its height; captivity of Israelites. 

705-626. Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal: Capital at Nineveh; 
brilliant age of Assyria; cruel wars. 

606. Assyrian Empire ends with destruction of Nineveh. 

605-562. Nebuchadrezzar (Chaldean or New Babylonian Empire); 
building of temples; fortifications; palaces. Babylonian cap- 
tivity of the Jews. 

539. Babylon becomes Persian province under Cyrus. 

^GEAN District 
?2ooo-i35o. Bloom-time of Cretan Age. 
1 500-11 50. Mycenaean civilization at its best. 
1000-700. Epic Age. 
776. First Olympiad. 
750-550 (about). Period of colonization. 
750-650 (about). Period of the nobles at Athens. 
700-500 (about). Cultural development; lyric poetry and philosophy. 
683. Yearly archons at Athens. 
650-594. Period of the heavy-armed at Athens. 
624 (about). Codification of Draco. 
594. Reforms of Solon. 
560-510. Pisistratid tyranny. 

524 



Chronological Table 5^5 

550. Sparta supreme in the Peloponnesus. 
508. Reforms of Cleisthenes. 

Relations with Persia and Carthage, 500-479 
499-494. Ionic revolt: Sardis, Lade, Miletus. 
492. First Persian attack under Mardonius. 

490. Second Persian attack under Datis and Artaphernes (Marathon). 
487. Choice of archons at Athens by lot. 
480. Third Persian attack under Xerxes (Thermopylae, Artemisium; 

Athenians withdraw from Athens; Salamis). 
480. Himera (Gelon and the Carthaginians). 
479. Campaign of Mardonius (Platsea); Mycale. 

The Supremacy of Athens, 479-431 
477-454. Delian Confederacy. 
474. Hieron defeats Etruscans off Cumae. 
462. Cimon goes to help Sparta against the Helots; decline of the 

Areopagus. 
459-445. Athenian Land League: Tanagra; (Enophyta; The Thirty 

Years' Truce (445). 
445-431. Golden Age of Athens under Pericles: the bloom of art and 

literature. 

The Peloponnesian War, 431-404 
A. The Archidamian War, 431-421. 

429. Death of Pericles (rise of Cleon). 

427. Revolt of Lesbos; surrender of Platffia. 

425. Pylos (peace negotiations). 

424. Brasidas and the Chalcidice; Delium. 

422.. Amphipohs: death of Brasidas and Cleon. 

421, Peace of Nicias. 

B. Period of the Sicilian Expedition, 421-413 
418. Mantinea (Alcibiades and Nicias rivals at Athens). 
416. Fall of Melos. 
415-413. Sicilian expedition. 

C. The Decelean War, 413-404 
412. AlUance between Persia and Sparta; revolt of Chios, etc. 
411. The Four Hundred at Athens (recall of Alcibiades). 
410. Cyzicus (peace negotiations) . 
407. Notium (retirement of Alcibiades). 



5^Q Chronological Table 

406. Arginusas (peace negotiations and condemnation of Athenian gen- 
erals). 
405. ^gospotami. 

404. Surrender of Athens and end of the war. 
405-367. Dionysius I, tyrant of Syracuse. 

The Supremacy of Sparta, 404-371 
404-403. The Thirty at Athens. 
401. Expedition of Cyrus (Cunaxa). 
399-394. War between Sparta and Persia: Agesilaus and Conon 

(Cnidus). 
395-387. Corinthian War: Agesilaus and Iphicrates; peace of Antal- 

cidas (387). 
379. Liberation of Thebes (Pelopidas and Epaminondas). 
371. Leuctra (end of the Spartan supremacy). 

The Leadership of Thebes, 371-362 

371-362. Theban invasions of the Peloponnesus; Pelopidas in Thessaly 

and Macedonia. 
3*62. Mantinea (death of Epaminondas and decline of Thebes). 

The Period of Philip of Macedon, 362-336 

357-355- Social War. 

356-346. Sacred War: Philip and Demosthenes; peace of Philocrates 

(346). 
345-337. Timoleon of Syracuse. 
338. Chaeronea (end of Greek freedom). 

Alexander and the Persians, 336-323 
336~323. Alexander the Great : Granicus (334); Issus (333); Tyre and 
Alexandria (332); Arbela (331). 

Hellenistic Period, 323-146 
323-322. Lamian War (death of Demosthenes). 
323-301. War of the Diadochi; Ipsus (301). 

The Separate Kingdoms 
(i) Egypt under the Ptolemies; Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II, Ptolemy 
III. 

(2) Syria under the Seleucidae: Seleucus Nikator, Antiochus III_ 

(3) Asia Minor: kingdoms of Pergamon, Bithynia, Pontus; 
Rhodes. 



Chronological Table 527 



(4) Macedonia: the Antigoni. 

(5) Greece. 

289. Death of Agathocles of Syracuse. 

280 (251). Achaean League (Aratus). 

222. Macedonian supremacy restored (Cleomenes III). 

196. Rome declares Greece free from Macedon. 

146. Destruction of Corinth. 

Roman History to the Samnite Wars, 753 (?)-343 (?) 
753 (?). Founding of Rome. 

510 (?). Establishment of the Republic: two consuls; two quaestors. 
494 (?). First secession: two plebeian tribunes; two plebian asdiles. 
451 (?)-449 (?). Decemvirate; twelve tables; second secession. 
445 (?). Canuleian law. 

444 (?). Military tribunes with consular power. 
443 (?). Two censors. 
396. Capture of Veil. 

390. Sack of Rome by the Gauls (Allia River) , 
367. Licinian laws; praetor; two curule aediles. 

Conquest and Organization oe Italy, 343-264 
343-341. First Samnite War. 
340-338. Great Latin War. 

326-304. Second Samnite War. (Caudine Forks, 321). 
300. Valerian law. 

298-290. Third Samnite War (Sentinum, 295). 
287. Hortensian law. 

281-272. War with Tarentura and Pyrrhus: Heraclea, Asculum, Ben- 
eventum. 

First Punic War, 264-241 
260. Mylae. 

256. Ecnomus (Regulus in Africa). 
255-241. War in Sicily. 

241. Agates Islands. Rome gains Sicily; Sardinia and Corsica (later). 
225-222. Extension of Italy to the Alps. 

Second Punic War, 218-201 
218. Ticinus and Trebia. 
217. Trasimenus. 
216. Cannae; Hannibal gets new allies, but Syracuse and Capua are 

recovered by Rome. 
218-207. Constant war in Spain. 



528 Chronological Table 

207. Metaurus (Hasdrubal). 

202. Zama. Rome gains Hither and Farther Spain. 

Conquest of the East, 201-133 . 

200-197. Second Macedonian War (Cynoscephalae). 

192-189. War with Antiochus III (Thermopylae and Magnesia). 

1 71-168. Third Macedonian War (Pydna). 

149-146. Third Punic War (Destruction of Carthage). 

146. Destruction of Corinth. 

146. Addition of Africa and Macedonia. 

133. Addition of Asia. 

133. Surrender of Numantia. 

Decline of the Republic, 133-27 

133. Reforms of Tiberius Gracchus. 

123. Reforms of Gains Gracchus. 

120 (about). Addition of Gallia Narbonensis. 

111-105. Jugurthine War (Marius) . 

102. Addition of Cilicia. 

102. Marius defeats Teutons at Aquae Sextiae. 

loi. Marius defeats Cimbri at Vercellae. 

100. Insurrection of Saturninus and Glaucia (decline of Marius). 

91. Attempted reforms of Drusus. 

91-88. Social War (Sulla). 

88. Sulpician laws. 

88-84. First Mithridatic War (Cinna and Marius at Rome). 

82-79. Sulla's dictatorship: proscriptions and constitution. 

81. Gallia Cisalpina added. 

79-72. Sertorian War in Spain. 

73-71. War of the Gladiators (Spartacus). 

70. Consulship of Pompey and Crassus (overthrow of Sulla's constitu- 
tion) . 

67. Pompey clears the sea of pirates (Gabinian law). 

66-63. Pompey ends the third Mithridatic War (Manilian law). Prov- 
inces added: Pontus and Bithynia, Syria, Cilicia (reorganized 
and enlarged), Crete. 

63. Consulship of Cicero (Conspiracy of CatiUne). 

60. First Triumvirate (Pompey, Caesar, Crassus). 

59. Consulship of Caesar. 

58-51. Caesar's conquest of Gaul. 

56. Conference of Luca. 



Chronological Table 529 

52. Pompey "sole consul" (Clodius and Milo). 

49-45. War between Caesar and the republicans: Dyrrachium, Phar- 

salus [Zela], Thapsus, Munda; Caesar supreme. 
44. Death of Caesar. 

43. Second Triumvirate (Antony Octavian, Lepidus). 
42. Battle of Philippi. 
31. Battle of Actium. 

The Roman Empire: Augustus to Theodosius 27 B.C.-395 a.d. 
The Julian Ccesars 
27 B.C.-14 A.D. Augustus: establishment of the principate; the bloom- 
time of literature. 

Provinces added: ^gypt, Moesia, Pannonia, Rhaetia, Noricum, 
Galatia, Lusitania. 

A.D. 

14-37. Tiberius (Crucifixion of Christ). 
37-41. Caligula. 

Clajidian CcBsars 
41-54. Claudius (Britain added). 
54-68. Nero. 
68-69. Disputed succession. 

The Flavian Ccesars 
69-79. Vespasian (Destruction of Jerusalem, 70). 
79-81. Titus. 
81-96. Domitian. 

"The Five Good Emperors" 

96-98. Nerva. 

98-117. Trajan. Provinces added: Arabia, Dacia, Armenia, Mesopo- 
tamia, Assyria. 
1 1 7-138. Hadrian. 
138-161. Antoninus Pius. 
161-180. Marcus Aurelius. 

Later Emperors 
211-217. Caracalla (all freemen become Roman citizens). 
270-275. Aurehan (new wall). 
284-305. Diocletian (Absolutism). 
313. Edict of Milan. 



530 Chronological Table 

323-337. Constantine sole emperor (further reorganization and council 

of NicEea, 325). 
378. Adrianople (Visigoths). 
395, Final division of the empire (Theodosius). 

Period of Transition, 395-800 a.d. 
410 and 455. Sack of Rome by the Visigoths (Alaric, 410); by the Van- 
dals (Gaiseric, 455). 
451. Chalons (Attila and the Huns). 
476. Odovacar (end of Western Empire). 
493. Theodoric (the Ostrogoths) conquers Odovacar. 
496. Clovis becomes an orthodox Christian (the Franks). 
527-565. Justinian (codification of the law). 
622. Hegira of Mohammed. 
732. Tours (Martel and the Arabs). 
800. Charlemagne crowned emperor in the west. 



APPENDIX I 

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS AND 
TEACHERS 

I. GENERAL WORKS 

Andrews and Gambrill. Bibliography of History for Schools and 
Libraries. Longmans. 

BONHAM, Andrews and Others (New England History Teachers 
Association). Catalogue of Collection of Historical Materials. 
Houghton, Mifflin Co. Information as to maps, charts, pictures, 
models and other aids to visualizing history. 

Cunningham. Western Civilization in Its Economic Aspects: Ancient 
Times. ■ Cambridge Univ. Press. Uniquely valuable for its point 
of view, which is ordinarily overlooked. Covers with special ful- 
ness the classical period. 

Foster, Gushing and Others (New England History Teachers Asso- 
ciation). History Syllabus for Secondary Schools. Heath. An ex- 
cellent bibliographical aid for teachers. Also useful for class work. 

Harpers. Dictionary of Classical Antiquity. Harper and Bros. 

Hazen, Bourne and Others. Historical Sources in Schools. Mac- 
millan. 

Helmolt. History of the World. Vol. Ill, Western Asia and Egypt; 
Vol. IV, The Mediterranean Countries. Dodd, Mead and Co. The 
most recent and best of the great general histories. 

Murray's Classical Atlas. For Schools. Edited by G. B. Grundy. 
- London: Murray. Is the most artistic and accurate school atlas 
published. 

Sanborn's Classical Atlas. Edited by J. K. Lord. Boston: Sanborn 
and Co. A close rival of the Grundy-Murray work. 

Seyffart. Dictionary of Classical Antiquity. Ed. Nettleship and 
Sandys. Macmillan. 

Tozer. Classical Geography (Literature Primers). American Book Co. 

II. THE EASTERN EMPIRES 

Encyclopedia Biblica, edited by Cheyne and Black. 4 vols. Macmillan 
Dictionary of the Bible, edited by J. Hastings. 4 vols. Scribners. 

These latest Bible dictionaries have elaborate and valuable arti- 
cles and maps dealing with the ancient oriental peoples. 
531 



532 Appendix I 

Harper. Assyriayi and Babylonian Literature. Appletons. A useful 
collection of accurate translations from these ancient documents. 

Jackson. Zoroaster. Macmillan. The best account of the founder 
of the Persian religion. 

Jastrow. The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria. Ginn and Co. 
The standard treatise on this subject. 

McCuRDY. History, Prophecy and the Monuments. 3 vols. Mac- 
millan. An elaborate survey of the oriental vs^orld from the Hebrew^s 
as a centre. Learned and instructive. 

Maspero. History of the Ancient East. i. The Dawn of Civilization. 
2. The Struggle of the Nations. 3. The Passing of the Empires. 
3 vols. Appletons. A most elaborate work by an excellent scholar. 
Full of illustrations. Costly but of great usefulness for school study. 

Myres. The Dawn of History. (Home Univ. Library.) Henry Holt 
and Co. Especially valuable for the relations established betweer> 
the land and the people. 

Paton. The Early History of Syria and Palestine. Scribners. An 
admirable little book, well constructed and accurate. 

Perrot and Chipiez. History of Art in Ancient Egypt. 2 vols. His- 
tory of Art in Ancient Babylonia and Assyria. 2 vols. Dodd, 
Mead and Co. These are the best works on ancient oriental art, 
fully illustrated. They are costly, but fully repay constant con- 
sultation. The same is true of the other works of these authors. 

Rawlinson. The Five Great Monarchies of the A ncient Eastern World. 
3 vols. Scribners. Always entertaining and useful, but now largely 
antiquated by the advance of knowledge. 

Records of the Past First Series, 12 vols. Second Series, 6 vols. (New 
York: Pott.) Translations from Egyptian and Babylonian-Assyrian 
documents by various hands. An excellent series. 

Rogers. History of Babylonia and Assyria. 2 vols. Eaton and 
Mains. Besides a good historical survey the book has an elaborate 
introduction dealing with the history of excavation and the decipher- 
ment of inscriptions. 

Steindorff. The Religion of Ancient Egypt. Putnams. An excellent 
survey by a competent scholar. 

III. THE GREEK STATES 

^SCHYLUS. Translated by Plumptre. D. C. Heath and Co. 
Aristophanes. Translated by Frere ("Acharnians," "Knights," 

"Birds," in Morley's Universal Library). Routledge. 5 vols. 
Aristotle. On the Constitution of Athens. Translated by Kenyon. 

Macmillan. Politics. Translated by Welldon. Macmillan. 



Appeiidix I 533 

Becker. Charides. Longmans. This time-honored scholastic tale 
of ancient Greece is still useful for reference. 

Bevan. The House of Seleuciis. 2 vols. Arnold. A well-written, de- 
tailed history of the Seleucid empire. 

Blumner. Home Life of the Ancient Greeks. Cassell. 

Bury. The Ancient Greek Historians. Macmillan. The best critical 
appreciation of the less-well-known as well as the famous Greek 
historians. For teachers. 

CuRTius. History of Greece. 5 vols. Scribners. See Holm. 

Davidson. Education of the Greek People. Appletons. 

Demosthenes. 5 vols. Translated by Kennedy. Macmillan. On 
the Crown. Translated by Collier. Longmans. 

Dickinson. The Greek View of Life. New Edition. Doubleday, 
Page and Co. Singularly clear, interesting and instructive. 

DiEHL. Excursions in Greece. Gravel. 

DuRUY. History of Greece. Dana, Estes and Co. Profusely illus- 
trated and written with French clearness and grace. Not, however, 
the work of a great scholar. 

Euripides. Translated into prose by Coleridge. Bell. In verse by 
Way. Macmillan. 

Freeman. History of Federal Government. Macmillan. One of Free- 
man's best works. Deals in great detail with the Achaean and 
^tolian leagues. 

Gardner, E. A. Ancient Athens. Macmillan. The work of an ex- 
pert in Greek art and archaeology. 
" A Hand-hook of Greek Sculpture. Macmillan. 

Grant. Greece in the Age of Pericles. Scribners. 

GuLiCK. Life of the Ancient Greeks. Appletons. 

Ha WES. Crete, the Forerunner of Greece. Harpers. 

Herodotus. Translated by Rawlinson, edited by Grant. 2 vols. 
Scribners. 

Hogarth. Ionia and the East. Clarendon Press. Lectures on the 
oriental background of Homer. 
" Philip and Alexander of Macedon. Scribners. A stirring 

exposition of the ideals and achievements of these heroes. 
Especially appreciative of Philip. 

Holm. History of Greece. 4 vols. Macmillan. See Curtius. Curtius 
and Holm are very different in point of view and treatment. Cur- 
tius emphasizes the esthetic; Holm the political. Curtius is the 
more interesting; Holm is more recent and hence more accurate 
and satisfactory. 



534 Appendioc I 

Homer. Iliad. Translated by Lang, Leaf and Myers. Odyssey. 

Translated by Butcher and Lang. Macmillan. Excellent prose 

versions. 
Jebb. Classical Greek Poetry. Houghton, Mifflin Co. 
Mahaffy. Social Life in Greece. Macmillan. 

" Greek Life and Thought from Alexander to the Roman Con- 

quest. Macmillan. 

" The Silver Age of the Greek World. Chicago Univ. Press. 

Largely a reprint of Mahaffy's Greek World under Ro- 
man Sway. 

" The Ptolemaic Dynasty. Vol. 4 of Petrie's History of 

Egypt. Scribners. 
Mahaffy's books are stimulating, full of learning, sometimes rather 

opinionated. 
Murray, G. The Rise of the Greek Epic. New Edition. Clarendon 

Press. A brilliant work on the Homeric question. 
Perrot and Chipiez. History of Art in Primitive Greece. 2 vols. 

Practically a discussion of Mycenaean Civilization. 
Plato. Socrates. A translation of the Apology, Crito and Parts of the 

Phaedo of Plato. Scribners. 
Schuckardt. Schliemann's Excavations. Macmillan. 
Sophocles. Antigone. Prose translation by G.H. Palmer. Houghton, 

MifHin and Co. Works. In Prose, translated by Coleridge. Bell. 
Symonds. Studies in the Greek Poets. Macmillan. 
Thucydides. Translated by Jowett. Clarendon Press. 
Tsountas and Man ATT. The Mycenaan Age. Houghton, Mifflin 

Co. A thorough discussion of recent discoveries in primitive 

Greece (up to 1897). 
Wheeler. Alexander the Great. Putnams. The best life of Alexan- 
der. Well illustrated. 
Xenophon. Works. Translated by Dakyns. Macmillan. These are 

the best translations, but in the Bohn series others may be obtained 

at less expense. 

IV. THE EMPIRE OF ROME 

Abbott. The Common People of Anciettt Rome. Scribners. A good 
treatment of a series of related topics, such as "Diocletian's Edict 
and the Cost of Living," "Corporations," "A Roman Politician." 

Anderson and Spiers. The Architecture of Greece and Rome. Bots- 
ford. The best volume on this subject. 

Appian. Translated by White. 2 vols. Macmillan. 



Appendix I . 535 

Arnold. Roman Provincial Administration. New Edition. Macmillan. 

A standard authority. 
Becker. Callus. Longmans. Of the same character as his Charicles. 
BoTSFORD. The Roman Assemblies. Macmillan. A sober, well-informed, 

detailed treatment. 
Bryce. The Holy Roman Empire. Macmillan. Of great value for 

the closing epoch of Ancient History. 
Bury. The Later Roman Empire. 3 vols. Macmillan. 
Carter. The Religious Life of Ancient Rome. Houghton, Mifflin Co. 
A study in the development of religious consciousness from the founda- 
tion of the city until the death of Gregory the Great. 
Cicero. Letters. Translated by Shuckburgh. Bohn. 

" Works. Translated in Bohn's Library. 

CuMONT. The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism. Open Court 

Publication Co. A fascinating narrative of a great movement. 
Davis, W. S. Influence of Wealth in Imperial Rome. Macmillan. 

Graphic. 
Duff. Literary History of Rome. Scribners. 
Duruy. History of Rome. 8 vols. Dana Estes and Co. Of the 

same character as his History of Greece. 
Ferrero. The Greatness and Decline of Rome. Putnams. 5 vols. 
The Women of the Ctpsars. Century Co. Clever, with many of the 
qualities of the historical novel; not dependable, however. 
Firth. Augustus Casar. Putnams. Useful. 
Fowler. CcEsar. Putnams. 

An excellent volume in the series "Heroes of the Nations." 
*■ The Religious Experience of the Roman People. Macmillan. 

From the earliest times to the age of Augustus. 
" Roman Festivals. Macmillan. 

Friedlander. Roman Life and Manners under the Early Empire. 
Translated by Magnus and Freese. 3 vols. Dutton 
and Co. Has long been the standard work on the 
subject. 
" Toun Life in Ancient Italy. Translated by Waters. 

Sanborn. Clear, concrete, picturesc[ue. 
Gibbon. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Edited by Bury. 

7 vols. Scribners. 
CiREENlDGE. Roman Public Life. Macmillan. Fuller than Abbott's 

Roman Political Institutions; scholarly, valuable. 
Greenidge. a History of Rome. Dutton. The best account of the 

period from 133 to 105 B.C. 
GuHL .'\ND KONER. Life of the Greeks and Romans. Scribners. 



536 Appendix I 

GwATKiN. Early Church History to A.D. 313. Macmillan. 2 vols. 
Heitland. The Roman Republic. 3 vols. Cambridge Univ. Press. A 

recent English work, highly valuable for the period of the revolution. 
Hill. Handbook of Greek and Roman Coins. Macmillan. 
HoDGKiN. Italy and Her Invaders. 7 vols. Clarendon Press. 

" Theodoric. Putnams. 

" Charles the Great. Macmillan. 

Horace. Translated by Martin. 2 vols. Scribners. Or, into prose 

by Lonsdale and Lee. Macmillan. 
Inge. Society in Rome under the CcEsars. Scribners. 
Johnstone. Mohammed and His Power. Scribners. See Macdonald. 
Juvenal. Translated by Gifford. Bohn. 

Lanciani. Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries. Hough- 
ton, Mifflin and Co. 

" Ruins and Excavations of Anciefit Rome. Houghton, 

Mifflin and Co. 
Lecky. History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne. 

2 vols. Appletons. 
LiVY. Translated by Spillan. 4 vols. Bohn. 
Lucretius. Translated into prose by Munro. Bell. 
Macdonald. Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and Con- 
stitutional Theory, Scribners. Johnstone. Mohammed and His 

Power. 

The above two useful works in small compass cover the whole 

field of Mohammedan history, life and thought. 
Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. Translated with introduction by 

Rendall. Macmillan. 
Mau. Pompeii, Its Life and Art. Macmillan. The most authoritative 

work on the subject. Well illustrated. 
Merivale. History of the Romans under the Empire. 6 vols. Apple- 
tons. From Augustus to the Antonines. Not a great work, but 

clear, in full detail and interesting. 
Mommsen, a History of Rome. 5 vols. Scribners. 

" The Provinces of the Roman Empire. 2 vols. New Edi- 

tion. Scribners. 
These seven volumes" contain Vols 1-3 and 5 of the German 

original. The fourth volume of the History, covering the period 

from Julius Caesar to Augustus, was left unwritten. 
Oman. Seven Roman Statesmen. Longmans. A good biographical 

treatment of the revolutionary epoch. 
Ovid. Translated by Riley. Bohn. 



Appendix I 537 

Platner. Topography and Monuments of A iicicnt Rome. New Edition. 
AUyn and Bacon. The best work in English on the subject. 

Pliny, the Younger. Letters. Translated by Melmoth-Bosanquet. 
Bohn. 

PoLYBius. Translated by Shuckburgh. 2 vols. Macmillan. 

Preston and Dodge. Private Life of the Romans. Leach. 

Ramsay. The Church in the Roman Empire before A.D.i-jo. Putnams. 
A stimulating discussion by an unusually competent scholar. 

Sellar. Roman Poets of the Augustan Age. Clarendon Press. A 
standard treatise on its theme. 

Shuckburgh. Augustus. Fisher Un win. Has in an appendix a trans- 
lation of the autobiography of Augustus. 

Stanley. History of the Eastern Church. Scribners. Vivid pictures 
of the relations of the Church and the Empire in the fourth and 
fifth centuries. 

Steachan-Davidson. Cicero. Putnams. Perhaps the fairest of the 
biographies of the orator. 

Strong. Roman Sculpture from Augustus to Constantine. Scribners. 
The best work on the subject. Well illustrated. 

Suetonius. Lives of the Twelve Ccesars. Translated by Thompson- 
Forester. Macmillan. 

Tacitus. Translated by Church and Brodribb. 2 vols. Macmillan. 

Taylor. A Constitutional and Political History of Rome. Methuen. 
Clear and accurate; somewhat old-fashioned. 

Thomas. Roman Society under the Ccesars. Putnams. 

Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European His- 
tory, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania, \'ol. 5. 
No. I. Monumentum Ancyranum, The Deeds of Augustus. Trans- 
lated by Fairley. 

Vergil. Translated into prose by Bryce. 2 vols. Bell. 

WiCKHOFF. Roman Art. Macmillan. 



APPENDIX II 

NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE I. The Parthenon and its FRiEZE.^The attempt ■ 
is made in this plate to reproduce the effect wrought by the use 
of color on Greek temples. It is taken from Fenger's work on 
the subject. We are looking at the northeast corner of the Par- 
thenon. (See Plate XVII and § 205.) The top of the Doric 
column is impressively shown. The sculptured "metopes" in 
high rehef represent various scenes, the meaning of which is 
doubtful. On the right side is a knight in battle array and a 
combat between footmen. On the other side are female figures. 
The refinement, coupled with vigor in the pose and execution of 
the figures, should be marked. At the bottom of the plate the 
portion of the frieze pictured is taken from that upon the east 
side of the building. From the right the procession of maidens 
bearing sacrificial vessels is advancing toward a group of men 
conversing. These are presumably the archons of the city. To 
the left, seated facing them, are the gods and goddesses. The 
one farthest to the left has been identified with Poseidon, next 
to him in order are Dionysus, Demeter (?), Aphrodite with Eros 
at her knee. On the sculptures of the Parthenon, see Tarbell, 
ch. 8, and Gardner, Ancient Athens, ch. 7. 

PLATE II. Typical Oriental Heads.- — i. The portrait of 
Hammurabi stands on a hmestone slab found near the site of 
ancient Accad (§ 11). The king is in the attitude of adoration 
with hands uphfted. Study the cap, the hair, and the beard as 
illustrating the style of dress. 2. The head of Rameses II is 
taken from his mummy now in the Museum at Cairo, Egypt. 
The remarkable profile betokens a man of imperious character. 
3. The head of Esarhaddon, the Assyrian, is from a stone tablet 
found in Syria. The conical cap betokens royalty. The curled 
beard and hair are characteristic of Assyrian-Babylonian style, 

538 



Appendix II 539 

and may be compared with those of head i. The king holds in 
his upHfted hand an object which he is offering (?) to his god. 
The Semitic type of face is evident. 4. The Syrian head is equally 
Semitic. The thick shock of hair, bound with a fillet, and the 
beard are characteristic of the Syrian in distinction from the 
shaven Egyptian and the carefully barbered Assyrian. 5. The 
head of the Philistine illustrates by its unlikeness to the features 
of the other heads the non-Semitic character of this people. The 
helmet or head-dress (of feathers?) is likewise peculiar. 6. The 
Hittite is distinguishable from Semitic heads by nose and chin. 
The hair hangs in a pigtail and the eyes are oblique, suggestive 
of the Chinese. Heads 4, 5, and 6 are from Egyptian reliefs. 
Observe that all of these heads are in profile. Why was this 
characteristic of oriental art? See Tarbell, pp. 33, 38-42. 

PLATE III. (a) The Sumerian Army in Action. — The pha- 
lanx formation of the Sumerians is noteworthy. "The great, rec- 
tangular, nail-studded shields, which protect the entire body, 
form a wall, out of which issue the levelled spears of the front 
lines. A helmet, probably of leather, with neck-guard, protects 
the head." The king strides in front, boomerang-like sceptre 
in hand (below he is about to hurl his spear). The machine 
passes over the bodies of the slain enemy. Note the bird-like 
heads of the Sumerian soldiers. 

{h) Babylonian Cylinders. Round the surfaces of the cyl- 
inders ran scenes such as those shown in the plate. They were 
used to stamp documents (which were made of moist clay) with 
a seal or a signature. The upper scene on the right comes from 
the Gilgamesh Epos (§ 28). The scene in the same corner at the 
bottom shows a lion hunt. Observe in others a god or goddess 
standing on the back of a wild animal. Observe also the fond- 
ness for monstrosities. 

PLATE IV. Painting from an Egyptian Tomb. — These 
pictures adorn the wall on the tomb of a noble in the time of 
the twelfth dynasty (§8). At the top is a hieroglyphic inscrip- 
tion giving the usual prayers for the dead. Following in order 
from top to bottom are represented (i) the making of sandals, 
(2) the making of arrows, chairs, and boxes, (3) goldsmiths' 



540 Appendix II 

work, (4) the making of pottery, (5) the preparing of flax and 
the making of linen, (6) harvesting and threshing, (7) ploughing 
and sowing. The picturing of these on the wall of the tomb, 
together with the sacred words above, was thought to assure to 
the dead the enjoyment of such things in the world to come. 
Besides the representation of Egyptian life here, the student 
has an excellent opportunity to study the merits and defects of 
Egyptian art. 

PLATE V. Swamp-Hunting in a Reed Boat (Egypt). — 
The Theban tombs have preserved exquisite examples of New 
Empire painting hke "the hunt in the marshes, exhibiting a 
fine touch of animal savagery in the fierce abandon of a lithe 
cat as she tramples two live birds beneath her feet and sinks her 
teeth at the same moment into a third victim." 

"In a light boat of papyrus reeds, accompanied by his wife 
and sometimes by one of his children, the noble delighted to float 
about in the shade of the tall rushes, in the inundated marshes 
and swamps. The myriad life that teemed and swarmed all 
about his frail craft gave him the keenest pleasure. While the 
lad}'- plucked water-lilies and lotus flowers, my lord launched 
his boomerang among the flocks of wild fowl that fairly darkened 
the sky above him, finding his sport in the use of the difficult 
weapon which for this reason he preferred to the more effective 
and less difficult bow." — Breasted, A History of Egypt, pp. 47, 89/. 

PLATE VI. Babylonian and Egyptian Temples. — 
(a) This restoration of the temple at Nippur was made by Pro- 
fessor Hilprecht. As one passed through the great oblong tower- 
gate in the outer wall, he entered the outer court, measuring 
260 by 260 feet, containing a small shrine. Through similar 
but greater gates the inner court was reached. There, directly 
in front, was the mighty stage-tower, its sides 190 by 128 feet. 
At the top of the tower was a shrine to the god. Besides the stage- 
tower was the temple proper, the "house of Bel." It consisted 
of one-story roofed chambers and open courts. Off to the right 
of the picture is one of the city gates. In front of the temple 
area was the canal. 

{h) The Egyptian temple lay along the Nile. Leading up to 



Appendix II 541 

the entrance was a road bordered by sphynxes. In front of the 
gate were two obehsks, symbolizing, perhaps, the rays of the sun- 
god, and some sitting statues of the kings or gods. A square 
entrance, flanked by huge buttresses called pylons, admitted to 
the court, surrounded by a portico upheld by pillars. Through 
this was the passage by pylon gateways into a covered hall, 
thence into another pillared court. The "holy of holies," the 
shrine of the god, was in the low rooms at the rear of the long 
series of courts and halls. Thick high walls and lofty pylons shut 
off entrance except through the front of the temple. Light was 
admitted through the courts. The chambers were entirely dark. 
The length of the whole structure was over 790 feet, its width 
over 100 feet. 

PLATE VII. Ancient Systems of Writing.- — The Rosetta 
stone contains in Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphic script a de- 
cree of the Egyptian priests passed in 197 B.C. It was found by 
Napoleon in 1802. By its aid Champollion in 1822 deciphered 
the hieroglyphics. The demotic writing (/. e., the cursive form 
used in Egypt in the first millennium B.C.) was first read by 
Brugsch in 1849. The Brick of Hammurabi is inscribed with 
Babylonian cuneiform characters. Cuneiform writing was first 
deciphered by Grotefend in 1802, but it was not till Henry Raw- 
linson, in 1847, had read the long Behistun inscription of Darius 
that the key to the language was really obtained. Neither the 
pictographic nor the linear Cretan writing has been deciphered 
as yet. These new scripts were discovered by x^rthur Evans. 

PLATE VHI. Typical Assyrian Scenes. — (a) This relief 
is cut from the surface of a limestone slab, and was one of a series 
which lined the walls of the Assyrian royal palace. King Ashur- 
banipal (§ 65) is galloping after a lion and in the act of discharg- 
ing an arrow at him. An attendant follows with fresh javelins 
and arrows. The energy and life of the scene, as well as the sub- 
ject, are typical. A study of the dress and, indeed, of the various 
objects represented, as well as of the excellences and defects of 
the pose, will reward the student with new light on Assyrian 
life and art. 

{p\ This relief represents the siege and assault of the city of. 



542 Appendix II 

Lachish by King Sennacherib (§ 65). See 2 Kings 18:14. A 
breach has been made in the walls directly in front, where the 
Assyrian mihtary engines are playing. Torches are being hurled 
down upon the besiegers; the fire is being put out with pans of 
water; archers are pouring clouds of arrows on the defenders. 
Scaling-ladders are raised against the walls. In front, prisoners 
are impaled on stakes. From one of the towers captives are com- 
ing forth with their effects. The animation and variety of the 
scene are only equalled by the grotesqueness of the art. Try to 
get the artist's point of view and study the details of the scene 
for the collection of facts concerning ancient military hfe. 

PLATES IX and X. Decoration of a Cretan Sarcopha- 
gus. — "On the best-preserved side (Plate IX), at the extreme 
right, is the erect figure of the dead closely swathed, standing 
before his tomb, beside which grows a sacred tree. Three per- 
sons approach him with offerings, the first bearing the model of 
a ship, to typify perhaps the voyage of the dead, the other two 
carrying young calves, which are drawn as if galloping — an ab- 
surd and slavish imitation of a well-known Minoan type. On the 
left a priestess is pouring wine into a large vase standing between 
two posts surmounted by double-axes upon which birds, prob- 
ably ravens, are perched. A lady and a man in long rich robes 
attend the priestess, the man playing a seven-stringed lyre. In 
the writer's eyes these double-axes are not fetishes, but are em- 
blems referring to the lineage or status of the deceased. The 
opposite side (Plate X) shows a bull sacrificed, a priestess before 
an altar, and a man playing a flute, followed by five ladies. . . . 
Whereas the priestesses and offerants on the sarcophagus wear 
a short skirt of pecuUar cut, the lay persons taking part in the 
rehgious rites, two men and six women, all wear long rich robes, 
and the flute-player keeps to the ancient Minoan fashion of dress- 
ing his hair in long curls." — Crete the Forerunner of Greece, by 
C. H. and H. Hawes, pp. 86 /. 

PLATE XL Kamares Pottery. — For the time and vogue of 
this work, see § 94. It seems to have been peculiarly Cretan. The 
view above to the right is simply the interior of the vessel shown 
below. Note the similarity in artistic effect with Plates IX and X. 



Appendix II 543 

PLATE XII. Throne of Minos and Pillar of the 
Double-Axes. — The double-axe, Labrys, seems to have been 
the sacred symbol of a male Cretan deity — perhaps the Carian 
Zeus, Zeus of Labraunda. It has been suggested that the name 
Labyrinth is derived from this word. The symbol is of frequent 
occurrence in Cretan monuments. 

"No more ancient throne exists in Europe, or probably in 
the world, and none whose associations are anything like so full 
of interest." — Baikie, The Sea Kings of Crete, p. 72. 

The connection with Minos is fanciful. 

PLATE XIII. Lion Gate and Bee-Hive Tomb. — In these 
two Mycenaean structures the aperture over the doorway is to 
be noted. By means of it the lintel is relieved of the superim- 
posed weight. In the case of the gate the slab which filled the 
aperture is still in place. It is adorned with two lions rampant on 
either side of a sacred pillar which, in the typical Mycenaean 
fashion, has the smaller end of the base. The gate is set back in 
such a way that assailants were exposed to a cross-fire from the 
wall. Mycenae was surrounded by walls, such as those which 
abutted the gate. Below we look down the walled passage which 
led into a bee-hive tomb. The wall at the end continues so as to 
enclose a conical space. Each ascending tier of stories projects 
inward until the top is closed by a single slab. Inside the bodies 
of the great dead of Mycenae were placed, and with them objects 
which would be needful for a king or queen iii the spirit world. 

PLATE XIV. Gold Cups of the Mycen^an Age. — 
These cups were found at Vaphio, in Laconia, in 1888, and hence 
are called the Vaphio cups. The upper design represents a hunt 
of wild cattle. The centre one is caught in a net. On the right 
another is in full flight, while on the left a third has thrown one 
hunter and is goring another. In the lower design the bulls are 
tame and under the care of a herdsman. The material is beaten 
gold. A sense of abounding life, coupled with some crudity, is 
the characteristic impression made by these works. See Tarbell, 
pp. 67-69; Tsountas and Manatt, pp. 227-228. 

PLATE XV. Wild Goat and Young— Cretan Art of 
the Twentieth Century B.C. — This plaque was probably 



544 Appendix II 

applied to a backing of colored plaster. Several examples of it 
have been found all taken from one mould. A vitreous glaze of 
siliceous composition has been put over a body of porous paste. 
The surface color of the faience is here a pale green with dark 
sepia markings. "The scene is laid on a mountain crag of 
Dicta or of Ida and the animal here is the Cretan wild goat, or 
Agrimi. The suckhng kid is shown in almost identically the 
same posture as a calf in a parallel design. In front, another kid 
looks up at its mother and bleats to her its desire, while the mother 
goat, in an attitude of serene impartiality, seems to chide the 
impatience of her offspring. This design, apart from its beauty 
and naturalism, is characterized by a certain ideal dignity and 
balance. ... In beauty of modelling and in hving interest, 
Egyptian, Phoenician, and, it must be added, classical Greek 
renderings of this traditional group are far surpassed by the 
Minoan artist." — A. J. Evans, in Annual of the British School 
in Athens, IX, pp. 71 J". 

PLATE XVI. Art or Greece in the Time of the Persian 
War. — Pieces of a single monument, possibly a pedestal. The 
upper three pieces are in Rome, the others in the Boston Museum 
of Fine Arts. The subject of the composition is Aphrodite, the 
goddess of love, who is seen rising from the sea. She inspires the 
flute girl and the lyre player. The maiden at the left may be 
concocting a love potion or simply burning incense. The some- 
what realistic figure of an old woman in the upper corner may be 
a nurse. The central scene above probably portrays the love 
rivalry of two maidens. 

Eros holds the balance. On each weight a man is sketched. 
The two seated figures sympathize with its movement, the one 
rejoicing, the other sorrowful, according as the weight incUnes 
toward her or rises away from her. 

PLATE XVII. The Acropolis.— This restoration of the 
buildings on the Acropolis is, like all such attempts, probably 
not accurate, but it represents the general situation and rela- 
tion of the different structures (§ 205). The entrance at the 
western end was by the Propylaea, at the head of which stood the 
colossal statue of Athena. To the right was the Temple of Vic- 



Appendix II 545 

tory. At the centre of the elevated platform, the Parthenon lay- 
on the right and the Erechtheum on the left. The Parthenon 
was entered at the eastern end. Other smaller temples filled up 
the enclosure. The Acropolis was about i,ooo feet long by 500 
feet wide; it was a sort of oval, with its long axis lying east and 
west. (See Plan of Athens, facing p. 147.) 

PLATE XVIII. Typical Greek Heads.— i. The first is 
taken from a full-length statue of Sophocles (§206). It is an 
ideal representation of the poet, no doubt, but it is instructive 
as illustrating the Greek type. The arrangement of hair and 
beard should be noticed. The failure to work out the detail of 
the eye gives the aspect of blindness, and is a defect of Greek 
sculpture. Compare some modern statue in this respect. 2. The 
head of Pericles bears a helmet as a sign of leadership (§ 195). A 
calm, thoughtful, somewhat reserved expression on the face is 
discernible. 3. The head of Socrates is noticeable for its origi- 
nality, and offers some instructive comparisons with the preced- 
ing. The breadth of the face contrasts with that of the, others. 
4. The head of Aphrodite is taken from the statue found in the 
island of Melos. The grace and purity of the face illustrate 
the Greek ideals of love and of woman. It dates from the early 
Hellenistic Age (§ 323). 5. The head of Alexander is taken from 
a relief on a sarcophagus now in Constantinople. He wears a 
lion's head instead of a helmet, and the ram's horn appears, 
typical of his divine descent from the Egyptian god Amon. The 
characteristic Greek profile is instructive. This, too, is early 
Hellenistic. 6. The last head is taken from a Graeco-Egyptian 
portrait painted on a wooden panel placed in a grave along with 
the mummy and intended to represent the features of the dead. 
It is clear that the Greek in Egypt remained in all essential traits 
a Greek. The thin beard, the oval face, the large eye, the straight 
nose find their counterparts in the other heads. A golden wreath 
in the hair is exquisitely done. 

PLATE XIX. The Hermes of Praxiteles. — This statue 
was found at Olympia in 1877. The god Hermes has the infant 
Dionysus on his arm. The god's mantle is thrown over a tree- 
trunk and he stands with his body gracefully curved, its weight 



546 Appendix II 

resting on the right leg and left arm. It would seem that the 
right arm held something which was being offered to Dionysus. 
The material is Parian marble. The child is not successfully 
modelled, but the figure of Hermes is of extraordinary excel- 
lence. Forget the mutilation as far as possible. A special study 
should be given to the head. For a full description, see Tarbell, 
pp. 221-223, 

PLATE XX. The Alexander Mosaic. — This mosaic came 
from the floor of a room in the so-called house of the Faun in 
Pompeii. In the lower left-hand corner a portion of it has been 
broken away. It represents probably the battle of Issus (§85) 
at the point where Darius turns to his chariot to flee and Alex- 
ander on horseback presses on in his charge. "At the head of 
the Greek horsemen rides Alexander, fearless, unhelmeted, lead- 
ing a charge against the picked guard of Darius. The long spear 
of the terrible Macedonian is piercing the side of a Persian noble, 
whose horse sinks under him. The driver of Darius's chariot is 
putting the lash to the horses, but the fleeing king turns with an 
expression of anguish and terror to witness the death of his 
courtier. . . . The grouping of the combatants, the characteri- 
zation of the individual figures, the skill with which the expres- 
sions upon the faces are rendered, and the delicacy of coloring 
give this picture a high rank among ancient works of art." See 
May, Pompeii, Its Life and Art, p. 288. 

PLATE XXI. Realistic and Romantic Art oe Hellen- 
istic Period. — The bronze statuette to the left formed part of 
the cargo of a ship which sank off the coast of Africa (Mahdia) 
in about 100 B.C. while en route from Athens to Italy. For the 
rest of the cargo, see Ferguson, Hellenistic Athens, p. 376. The 
figure is that of a dwarf. She belonged in all probability to an 
ancient vaudeville troupe. Note the realism evidenced in the 
choice of the subject and its faithful portraiture. 

For the purpose and subject of the relief reproduced to the 
right, see § 313. This scene should be compared with that of 
Plate XV. The two are ahke in theme and use, though one 
thousand five hundred years fall between their times of com- 
position. 



Appendix II 5Vil 

PLATE XXII. Typical Sculptured Figures.— (a) The 
statue of Khafre is of green diorite, a very hard stone. The 
Pharaoh is seated on the royal chair in an attitude of regal com- 
posure and majesty. The head-dress, false beard, and body gar- 
ment are characteristically Egyptian, Special attention should 
be given to the face and the pose. The right leg of the statue 
is badly broken. In judging of Egyptian art the other speci- 
mens in Plates III, IV, and V should be taken into account, and 
also the examples in Tarbell, pp. 16-35. 

ih) Posidippus was an Athenian playwright of the third cen- 
tury B.C., and the statue is a striking example of the portrait 
statuary of the period. The easy grace of the pose, as well as 
the cultured refinement of the face and bearing, are especially 
worthy of note. The student will be profited by a study of the 
dress, the chair, and other accessories. It would be well to com- 
pare these two figures with each other, and also the face of the 
Greek with those of the typical heads of Plate XVIII. 

PLATE XXIII. The Laocoon Group.— This group rep- 
resents the scene described by Vergil in the ^Eneid (II, 199-233), 
where the priest Laocoon, advising against admitting the Trojan 
horse into Troy, is, with his sons, slain by serpents. It is a work 
of the school of Rhodes about 150 B.C. The exhibition of horror 
and agony is the salient feature of the work. The Laocoon 
has been variously judged. For examples, see Tarbell, 264-267. 

PLATE XXIV. Classical Temples.— (a) The Greek tem- 
ple at Psestum, in southern Italy, belongs to the sixth century 
B.C. It is, therefore, an early type. A double row of sturdy 
Doric columns surrounds the shrine. The temple was built of 
limestone and covered with stucco. 

{h) The Roman temple is a modification of the Greek. This 
temple, 59 by 117 feet, is surrounded by a single row of Corin- 
thian columns 30 feet 6 inches in height. It dates probably from 
the time of Hadrian (a.d. 122). Changes in certain features of 
the temple of the Greek type can be clearly seen by comparison 
of these two structures. 

PLATE XXV. Typical Sculptured Figures.— ((z) The 
statue of Ashurnatsirpal is the only fully wrought Assyrian statue 



548 Appendix II 

known. The king stands in royal majesty, his arms bare. The 
right hand holds a sceptre, the left a mace. The hair and 
beard as well as the royal dress deserve notice. See Good- 
speed, History of Babylonians and Assyrians, p. 202; Tarbell, 
pp. 40, 41. 

{h) The statue of Trajan represents him probably in the act 
of addressing his soldiers. He wears a cuirass, and his mantle is 
draped over his shoulder and around his arm. A series of instruc- 
tive comparisons may be drawn between the two royal figures on 
this plate. 

PLATE XXVI. Wall Paintings from Campanian Tombs. 
— Campania was the seat of a rich culture before the Roman con- 
quest. It had learned much from the Greeks, who were settled 
near by on the Bay of Naples. The Etruscans had been its over- 
lords for many generations, and had brought their customs south 
with them. The art of Campania in the fourth and third cen- 
turies B.C., as we see from these grave monuments, was Greek 
in its general characters. The knights of Campania were fa- 
mous warriors. To the left one of them rides on his tomb as 
he often rode in the flesh. Note particularly his plumed helmet. 
To the right is a bloody combat of gladiators. Observe frightful 
wounds inflicted where the body is unprotected. The gladiatorial 
games arose, we are told, from combats of victims which formed 
part of funeral ceremonies. 

From an early date they were given in the cities along the entire 
western slope of Italy. » 

PLATES XXVII and XXVIII. Typical Coins.— i. A coin 
of Lydia of the type of the Babylonian "stater." One of the 
earliest known coins (§ 129). Date about 700 B.C. The material 
is electrum. 2. A Persian gold "daric" (§81) of Darius I. 
3. A gold "stater" of Mithridates of Pontus (§ 461). Here is 
the king himself represented, with hair blown back as though he 
were driving a chariot. The reverse shows a stag feeding. A 
long period of growth in the artistic production of coins Hes 
between 2 and 3. 4. Another oriental gold coin, representing 
Queen Berenice of Egypt, wife of Ptolemy III (§ 318). Both 
this and the preceding are noticeable because on them are por- 



Appendix II 549 

traits of the reigning monarchs. 5. A silver medallion of Syra- 
cuse. The coins of this city reached the highest artistic excel- 
lence. The head is that of Persephone surrounded by dolphins. 
The reverse shows the victor in a chariot race; over the chair 
hovers Victory conferring the laurel. The design and workman- 
ship of this coin are specially worthy of study. 6. A silver 
"stater" of the Greek city of AmphipoHs and dating about 400 
B.C. The head of the god Apollo appears on one side, and 
on the other a torch such as the racers bore. The god's head is 
remarkable for animation. 7. A silver " tetradrachm " of Athens, 
about 550 B.C., earlier and ruder than the preceding. On 
one side is the head of Athena, patron goddess of the city, on 
the other the olive branch and sacred owl. 8. A silver "shekel" 
of Judaea in the time of Simon Maccabseus (§ 430). A cup, a 
pot of manna, and triple lily are the emblems, and the letters 
signify "shekel of Israel," and "Jerusalem the holy." g. A 
bronze "sestertius" of Nero. The emperor appears on horse- 
back armed with a spear and accompanied by a mounted soldier 
carrying a banner. 10. A silver coin of the Roman Republic 
about 100 B.C. The head of Roma, Victory in a chariot, and an 
ear of corn are represented. The name of the ofificial who coined 
the piece also appears. 11. A gold "sohdus" of the Emperor 
Honorius (§ 570) from Ravenna. The portrait of the emperor is 
given in the style characteristic of this late age. He wears the 
diadem and holds the sceptre. 12. A bronze "sestertius" of 
Antoninus Pius (§ 533). An excellent wreathed portrait-head of 
the emperor stands on one side; on the other is Roma with the 
palladium, and the inscription "Roma aeterna." 13. A silver 
coin of Augustus (§484). The emperor appears on one side; 
on the other, one of his favorite symbols, the Sphynx. 14. A 
silver "denarius" of the Repubhc (99-94 B.C.). The bust of 
Roma appears. On the other side are three citizens engaged in 
voting — a typical scene. 15. A silver "argenteus" of the Em- 
peror Caracalla (§ 547). His portrait, with his head surrounded 
with the sun's rays, is characteristic of the time. (See § 554.) 
16. A bronze "as" of Rome, weighing one and one-fifth ounces. 
The symbols are the head of the god Janus and the prow of a 



550 Appendix II 

galley. The date is just before 217 B.C. The symbols are 
characteristic in view of the date. Why? (See § 404.) 

PLATE XXIX. The Roman Forum.— This plate represents 
the Forum and its surroundings in the imperial period. The 
Forum itself was never very large (§340) and was early sur- 
rounded by buildings and filled with statues. At the upper end 
into which we look stood the Rostra. The various public build- 
ings are named upon the plate itself. A plate representing the 
Forum at the present day will be found in Morey, Roman His- 
tory, frontispiece. 

PLATE XXX. Typical Roman Heads.— i. The striking 
head of Julius Caesar is that of a man of force and ideas. The 
high forehead, the prominent cheek-bones, the firm mouth, and 
thin lips reveal the general and the statesman. He is also the 
typical Roman patrician. The sculptor evidently sought to 
produce an exact likeness. 2. Cicero is the typical urbane and 
cultivated Roman of the middle class. His face has a strikingly 
modern character, being distinctively Roman, perhaps, in its 
dignity and the traces of sternness. The chin and nose of both 
these typical Romans are noteworthy. 3. Vespasian's head 
illustrates exactly that of the Roman peasant, honest, unyield- 
ing, practical. Notice the cropped hair, thick neck, and decided 
mouth. 4. Hadrian's head and hair are characteristic of the 
ruler of the later imperial age. His face is of the western type, 
yet not Roman. 5. Faustina, the wife of Marcus Aurelius, is 
the typical Roman matron. The features are strong and simple 
without the ideal grace of the Greek type. Such a woman would 
naturally accompany her husband on his campaigns. Notice 
the dressing of the hair. 6. The bust of Commodus represents 
him as Hercules. The characteristic club is in his hand and the 
lion's skin on his head. The curling beard and hair, and, indeed, 
the whole representation, disclose the vain and frivolous weakling*. 
It is a long step from Juhus Caesar to Commodus. The artistic 
skill of the sculptor is worthy of notice. 

PLATE XXXI. Art of the Augustan Age. — "First two 
fiamines and behind them a beautiful young figure, with drapery 
drawn over the head; he is the bearer of the sacena, the 'ofl&cial' 



Appendix II 551 

axe borne as a symbol of sacrifice, though not actually for use. 
Behind again comes a stately middle-aged personage (Agrippa?) 
to whose drapery clings a small boy. A lady in the background 
(Julia?) places her right hand on the child's head as he looks back 
at a stately matron. This second lady . . . fronts the spec- 
tator and turns in three quarters to the left. . . . She can be 
no other than the Empress Livia herself. Behind Livia come 
two young men, the first of whom is thought to be Tiberius." — 
Strong, Roman Sculpture, pp. 44/. 

"If we study these trains of priests and ofiicials, of proud 
youths, of beautiful women, and well-bred children, who walk 
behind the Emperor (Augustus) in long rows, or come forward 
to welcome him, we must confess that there are few works of 
art which would have rendered with equal success the conscious- 
ness of high worth combined with elegance of deportment. It 
is an historical picture of the first order, which shows us the 
people, who first conquered the world and were then governing 
it, united together." — Wickhoff, Roman Art, pp. 31 /. 

"A woman of gracious mien sits on a rock. The back of her 
head is covered by an ample veil which is then drawn round her 
from waist to ankles. On her lap is abundance of fruit — apples, 
grapes, nuts; on the left knee, which is raised, sits a little child 
whom she holds with her left hand, while a somewhat bigger 
child scrambles up on her right. . . . To the right and to the 
left are the fertilizing genii of the earth — Air mounted on a swan 
and Water figured as a nereid riding a sea monster, . . . while 
below in the meadows spring the trees and flowers among which 
the animals pasture." — Strong, pp. 44/. 

PLATE XXXII. Relief from the Arch of Titus. — The 
Arch of Titus commemorated his victory over the Jews and the 
capture of Jerusalem (§ 513). It stood on the Sacred Way. 
Unhke the Arch of Constantine (Plate XXXIX), it had but one 
central archway and within the vault of this was the relief of 
our plate. A group of soldiers lead captives and bear the spoils 
of the Jewish temple. The golden table of the shewbread and 
the seven-armed golden candlestick are prominent among them. 
Laurels crown the heads of the soldiers and they carry Roman 



552 Appendix II 

military standards. The work is of Pentelic marble, and testi- 
fies to the artistic taste and skill of the time. 

PLATE XXXIII. Room in the House of the Vettii. 
— The House of the Vettii at Pompeii was unearthed in 1894 
and contains some of the best preserved memorials of Pompeian 
art. This room, one of the two dining-rooms, with its variegated 
marble work, its paintings, and its frescoes, illustrates notably 
the character of the better Roman house of the time. The sub- 
jects of the paintings are taken from Graeco-Roman mythology. 
On the right is Bacchus coming on the sleeping Ariadne. On the 
left are Daedalus and Pasiphae. The subject of the painting 
facing us is the punishment of Ixion. Hermes, who has brought 
Ixion, is in front, at his feet a veiled figure. To the right is the 
goddess Hera, and on the left Hephaestus has just fastened Ixion 
to the wheel. See May, Pompeii, Its Life and Art, pp. 333-334. 

PLATE XXXIV. Roman Portraiture. — Roman art is 
distinguished for the excellence of its portraiture. Corbulo was 
Nero's brilliant general in the Parthian wars. Summoned home 
treacherously by his jealous master, he was forced to commit 
suicide. Compare the other portraits in Plate XXX. 

PLATE XXXV. Relief from Trajan's Column.— The 
Column of Trajan stood in his Forum (Plate XXIX). It was 
128 feet high and was surmounted by a statue of the emperor 
twenty feet high. A spiral staircase of 185 steps led to the top. 
Around the column wound a series of bronze reliefs in twenty- 
three tiers representing scenes in the Dacian war (§ 538). The 
reliefs contained 2,500 figures. In the centre of this relief- appears 
Trajan receiving from his soldiers the heads of Dacian spies. 
To the left a siege is going on, Roman soldiers advancing to the 
assault under a testudo. Observe carefully the dress and weap- 
ons of the soldiers. 

PLATE XXXVI. Castle of St. Angelo: Hadrian's 
Mole. — In the front flows the Tiber. In the rear to the left is 
St. Peter's. In the foreground rises the huge mass of Hadrian's 
Mole. In it were buried the emperors from Hadrian to Caracalla. 
Begun by Hadrian in 136, it was completed by Antoninus Pius 
in 139. It was a fortress in the Middle Ages and played an im- 



Appendix II 55S 

portant part in the struggles of the popes for the control of Rome. 
Its modern name is derived from the statue of the archangel at 
its summit. 

PLATE XXXVII. The Pantheon and the Walls of Au- 
RELIAN. — The Pantheon was first constructed by Agrippa, in the 
time of Augustus, but the present dome dates from the reign 
of Hadrian. The portico, supported by sixteen Corinthian col- 
umns of granite forty-one feet in height, is part of the original 
structure. In the rear were colossal baths. As it stands to-day 
it is one of the most beautiful and impressive monuments of 
Rome. First a "very sacred" pagan temple, it became in the 
Middle Ages a Christian church, and is now the tomb of the 
Italian kings. 

Great walls of brick were built in 271, at the command of Aure- 
lian by the Roman guilds of workmen to protect the city from the 
Germanic invaders. By a desperate Italian campaign the em- 
peror had just saved Rome from sack. They form one of the 
most conspicuous and picturesque monuments of antiquity to 
be seen in modern Rome. At intervals towers were set such as 
those in the plate. 

PLATE XXXVIII. Early Christian Art.— These scenes 
from the life of Jonah were painted on the walls of a chamber 
in the catacombs. They are dated about the beginning of the 
third century a.d. They are notable not merely for the crudity 
of their execution, but also for the religious symbolism which 
they set forth. The experiences of Jonah had a twofold mean- 
ing, for the Christian: (i) they were types of the death and resur- 
rection of Jesus (Matt. 12: 39-49), and (2) they encouraged the 
persecuted believers to persevere in the trials of the present life 
and hope for the life to come. The "great fish" is thought to 
be copied after the dragon that figures in Graeco-Roman mythol- 
ogy; for example, in the story of Andromeda, representations 
of which in the art of the time were not uncommon. The sym- 
bolism of this picture is further carried out by the mast and yard 
of the ship, which are arranged to form a cross. 

PLATE XXXIX. Typical Roman Architecture.— (a) The 
highly decorative character of this arch is at once evident. 



554 Appendix II 

Some of the adornments were taken from other monuments, for 
example, the four great statues and some reliefs from an arch 
of Trajan. At the top were originally a chariot and horses, and 
statues. The arch was built in a.d. 315, to commemorate the 
victory of Constantine over Maxentius in 312. Its proportions 
are fine and its adaptations of Greek architecture are instructive. 
Compare it with the Arch of Titus and consider whether it does 
not lack dignity in comparison with that. See Seignobos, p. 322. 

{b) This aqueduct is a remarkable union of simplicity, strength, 
and beauty. Its length is 882 feet, its height 162 feet. The 
water channel above is covered with large slabs of stone about 
fourteen feet wide. The character of Roman engineering and 
architectural work is most fully illustrated by it. It was built 
for the needs of a Gallic city, the like of which, in size and im- 
portance, were to be found scattered all over the Roman Empire. 
The various features of it will reward study. 

PLATE XL. Christ Enthroned. — This fresco stands over 
one of the doors in the Mosque of St. Sophia in Constantinople, 
once a Christian church (§ 575). Christ sits on his throne raising 
his hand in blessing. On either side are Mary, his mother, and 
Michael, the archangel. Before him lowly kneeling is the em- 
peror in the attitude of a subject. By some this figure is said 
to be the Emperor Justinian (§ 574). The Greek words signify 
" Peace be unto you. I am the light of the world." Study both 
subject and style of execution as characteristic of Byzantine art 
and the times in which it arose. 



INDEX 



References are to pages; /. indicates "following page"; f., 
"following pages"; w., "notes." 



Ab-de'ra, i86. See map following 
p. 88. 

Academy, 218. 

A-can'thus, 183. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

A-car-na'ni-a, 219. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Ac'cad, 10. See map facing p. 3. 

A-chae'an cities, 170. 

A-chae'an League, struggle with 
Macedonia, 265; relations to 
Rome, 366, 368; dissolved, 370. 

A-chae'us and A-chse'ans, 92. 

A-che-men'i-dae, 239. 

A-chil'les, 85, 87. 

Ac'ra-gas ( Agrigentum) , 140. See 
map facing p. 89. 

A-crop'o-lis, of Athens, 115, 164. 

Ac'ti-um, 427. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Adoption, in ancient East, 19; at 
Rome, 336 f. 

A-dras'tus, 95. 

A-dri-a-no'ple, 503. See map facing 
P- 517- 

A-dri-at'ic sea, 278. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

^-e'tes, 96 f. 

^-e'ti-us, 504. 

yE'gse, 220, 222. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

^-ga'le-os, mt., 138. 

^-ga'tes, islands, 348. See map 
following p. 278. 

iE-ge'an sea, 41, 65 f. See map 
facing p. 77. 



^-ge'ium, 263. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

i^-gi'na, 83, 99, 169. See map 
following p. 66. 

^-gos-pot'a-mi, 196. 

^-gyp'tus, 93. 

^-mil'i-us Paul'us, 352, 367. 

^-ne'as, 287. 

^-ne'id, 437. 

M,'o-\\x?,, and the ^-o'li-ans, 92. 

^'qui, 300, 304. 

^s'chi-nes, 225. 

iEs'chy-lus, 140, 142, 165. . 

^'son, 96. 

^-to'li-a, 219. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

iEtolian League, 268, 365 f., 368. 

Africa, province of, 372. 

Ag-a-mem'non, 95. 

A-gath'o-cles, 272 f., 344, 

A-ge'nor, 94. 

A-ges-i-la'us, 204 f. 

Agrarian problem, in Greece, 104, 
117, 119, 163, 172; at Rome, 
306, 317, 327, 392 ff., 396. 

A-gric'o-la, 454, 478. 

Agriculture, in ancient East, 14 f.; 
at Rome, 331 f., 375 f. 

A'gri Dec'u-ma'tes, 454. 

Ag-ri-gen'tum, 347. See Acragas. 

A-grip'pa, 427, 441 ff. 

A'haz, 50. 

Al-a-man'ni, 503, 511. 

Al'a-ric, 503. 

Al'ba Lon'ga, 2S8 f. See map on 
p. 301. 

Al-cffi'us, 100. 



555 



556 



Index 



Al-ci-bi'a-des, 190 ff., 197. 

Alc-mae-on'i-dae, 116, 120, 154. 

Alc'man, loi. 

Alexander, 38; youth and train- 
ing, 231; campaigns in Greece, 
232; invasion of Persia, 233; 
development of plans, 239; 
lord of Persia, 239; organiza- 
tion of empire, 239 ff., 241 f.; 
world ruler, 242; death, 242; 
characterization, 242 ff.; Alex- 
ander II, 249. 

Alexandria, in Egypt, 236 f.; 
Egyptian Alexandria under the 
Ptolemies, 255 ff.; Christian- 
ity in, 489 f., 499; other Alex- 
andrias, 244. 

Al'li-a, 318. See map on p. 301. 

Alphabet, 21, 42, 99. 

Alps, Hannibal's passage of, 351. 

Am'a-sis, King of Egypt, 37, 89. 

Am-bra'ci-a, 219. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Am'brose, 501. 

Am'on, god of Egypt, 32 ff.; Alex- 
ander and, 237. 

A-mor'gos, 248. 

Am-phic'ty-o-ny, 92; the leading 
ones, 94 f.; and Philip of Mace- 
don, 223, 226. 

Am-phip'o-lis, 183, 222. See map 
following p. 66. 

Amphitheatre, 460. 

Amusements, in ancient East, 24; 
in Greece, 98, 100, 120, 141 f., 
162 f., 164 f., 167 f.; at Rome, 
334 f-) 379; under the Empire, 
459 ff- 

A-myc'le, 74. See map facing p. 77. 

An-ab'a-sis, of Cyrus, 204 f. 

An-ac're-on, loi. 

An-ax-ag'o-ras, 186. 

An-ax-im'e-nes, 102. 

Ancient history, earliest seats of, 
I, 3; divisions of, 4; end of, 
502, 521. 



An'cus Mar'tius, 288. 

An-dro-ni'cus, 381. 

An'dros, 88, 260. See map fol- 
lowing p. 128. 

Angles and Saxons, 516. 

An-tal'ci-das, 206. 

An-tig'o-ne, 95, 165. 

An-tig'o-nus I, 249 f.; IT, 259 f. 

An'ti-och, 263. See map follow- 
ing p. 476. 

An-ti'o-chus I, 261; II, 260; III, 
268, 366; IV, 368. 

An-tip'a-ter, 232, 248 f. 

An-to-ni'nus Pius, 472 f. 

An-to'ni-us, M., the orator, 382; 
the triumvir (Antony), 425 ff. 

A-pel'la, 114. 

Ap'en-nine, mts., 277. See map 
following p. 278. 

A-phro-di'te, 86. 

A-pol'lo, 86 f.; at Delphi, 88 f., 98. 

Ap'pi-an Way, 285, 342. 

Ap'pi-us Clau'di-us, the censor, 
325, 342; the consul, 315 f. 

A-pu'li-a, 279, 352. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

A'quae Sex'ti-ae, 399. See map 
facing p. 412. 

Aqueduct, 339, 342, 462. 

A-qui-ta'ni-a, 433. See map fac- 
ing p. 412. 

A-ra'bi-a Pet-ras'a, 2; province of, 
476. 

Arabians, invade Babylonia, 9. 

Ar-a-me'ans, original home, 3; 
invasions by, 39 f.; Kingdom 
at Damascus, 46. 

A-ra'tus, 264. 

A-rau'si-o, 398. 

Ar-be'la, 237 f. See map facing 

P-3- 

Ar-ca'di-a, early history, in, 114; 
democracy in, 149; united by 
Thebes, 210. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Ar-ca'di-us, 502.. 



Index 



557 



Archbishop, 489. 

Ar-chi-da'mus, 271. 

Ar-chil'o-chus, 100. 

Ar-chi-me'des, 258. 

Architecture, in ancient East, 24, 
S^; Egyptian, 24 f.; Assyrian, 
51; Persian, 61; Greek, 163 f.; 
Roman, 339, 383; in Augustan 
age, 438 f.; first century a.d., 
462; in second century, 477 f.; 
in Constantine's time, 496; in 
Justinian's time, 507 f. 

Ar'chon, official at Athens, 116, 

131, 151- 

A-re-op'a-gus, council of, 116, 118; 
decline of, 150 f. 

A'res, 86. 

Ar-gi-nu'sae, 196. See map fac- 
ing p. 180. 

Ar'go, 84, 97. 

Ar'go-nauts, 96 f. 

Ar'gos, early history, in; in Per- 
sian wars, 127, 133; democracy 
at, 149; takes part in Pelopon- 
nesian War, 191. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

A-ri-ad'ne, 94. 

A'ri-ans, 487 n. 

A-rim'i-num, 349. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

A-ri'on, 107. 

Ar-is-tag'o-ras, 127 f. 

Ar-4s-tar'chus, 258. 

Ar-is-ti'des, 131 f., 138, 145 f. 

Aristocracy, in Orient, 17; in 
early Greece, 80 f.; decline of, 
104; in Athens, 115 f.; revival 
in Greece, 200; at Rome, 286 f.; 
297, 299, 305 f.; becomes oli- 
garchy, 326; the nobility, 377; 
under the Empire, 453, 456; 
Frankish, 511 f. 

Ar-is-to-de'mus, 96. 

Ar-is-to-gei'ton, 120. 

Ar-is-toph'a-nes, 185. 

Ar'is-tot-le, 231, 244 f. 



A'ri-us and A'rians, 487 n., 499 f. 

Ar-me'ni-a, 40; and Rome, 410, 
475 f. See map following p. 234. 

Ar-min'i-us, 442. 

Army. See "Warfare." 

Ar'no, 278. See map following 
p. 278. 

Art, in ancient East, 24; in My- 
cenaean Greece, 72 £f.; in Peri- 
clean Athens, 163 f.; in the 
fourth century B.C., 215 f.; in 
Hellenistic Age, 257; at Rome, 
339 f-, 383, 438 f., 461 f.; early 
Christian, 490; Byzantine, 507 
See "Architecture," "Sculpt- 
ure." 

Ar-ta-ba'zus, 140. 

Ar-tax-erx'es I, 194; II, 204; III, 
212, 233. 

Ar'temis, 86. 

Ar-te-mis'i-um, 136. See map fol- 
. lowing p. 66. 

A'runs, 301. 

As, 332. 

As-cu-la'pi-us, 341. 

As'cu-Ium, 324. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Ash'dod, 42 n. 

Ash'ur, 52. 

Ash-ur-ban'i-pal, 49; rebellion 
against, 51; library of, 51 f.; 
death, 53. 

Ash-ur-nats'ir-pal, 49. 

Asia, province of, 372, 404 f. See 
map following p. 434. 

Asia Minor, :^2, 42, 49, 89. See 
map following p. 424. 

As'kal-on, 42 n. 

Assemblies, in Greece, 81; in Spar- 
ta, 114; in Athens, 116, 118, 
150 ff., 154, 184; at Rome, 287, 

300, 307, 309. 338, 356 f., 474, 
492; provincial, 467. See"Co- 
mitia. " 
As'sur, city, 13, 48. See map fac- 
ing P- 3- 



558 



Index 



As-syr'i-a, 3, 13; physical features, 
48; Kingdom, 13; empire, 49; 
organization, 49 f.; civilization, 
51 f.; contribution to history, 
52; fall, S3; Roman province 
of, 476. See map facing p. 3. 

Astronomy, 25, loi f. See "Sci- 
ence. " 

Ath'a-mas, 96. 

Ath-a-na'sius, 499. 

A-the'na, goddess of Athens, 86, 
93, 115, 164, 166. 

Athens, geographical position and 
people, 115; early organization, 
IIS f-; lawgivers, Draco, 117; 
Solon, 117 f.; tyranny of 
Pisistratus, and its fall, 119 ff.; 
legislation of Cleisthenes, 121 f.; 
early expansion, 117 f.; comes 
in contact with Persia, 127 f.; 
change in political policy under 
Themistocles, 131 f.; destroyed 
by Persians, 139; rival of Sparta, 
144; rebuilt, 146; after Persian 
wars, 144; progress under The- 
mistocles, 146 f.; fortified, 146; 
commercial and political de- 
velopment, 147; growth of im- 
perialism, 147 f. ; population, 
156; the citizen of, 159; in- 
come, 168 f.; politics under 
Pericles, 169; decline of land 
empire, 170; thirty years' peace, 
170; expeditions against Per- 
sia, 170 f.; empire of, 171 f.; 
interferes between Corinth and 
Corcyra, 175; war with Sparta, 
169 f.; plague at, 179; parties 
at, 179; end of first period of 
war, 183; spirit of the people 
during the war, 184; expedition 
against Syracuse, 191 f.; in third 
period of war, 193 ff.; surrender 
of, ig6; glory and weakness in 
the war, 198 f.; second naval 
league, 211; intellectual splendor 



in fourth century, 216 ff., 244 f.; 
relations to Philip, 212, 225 f.; 
to Alexander, 232; literature in 
third century, 265 f. 

Ath'e-sis, 278. 

Ath'os, mt., 129, 132. See map 
following p. 66. 

A'tri-um. See "House." 

At'ta-lus, 267. 

At'ti-ca, 117, 118. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

At'ti-la, 504. 

Au'gur, 295. 

Au-gus-ta'les, 430. 

Au'gus-tine, si4- 

Au-gus'tus, his problem, 428; solu- 
tion of it, 428 ff.; provincial ad- 
ministration, 429; foreign policy, 
432 f.; imperialism, 434 f.; de- 
fects in his scheme of admin- 
istration, 441 f.; achievement, 
444. 

Au-re'li-an, 487. 

Au-re'li-us, Marcus, 471, 473, 476, 
480 f. 

Aus'pi-ces, 29s, 388. 

Aus-tra'si-a, 511. See map facing 

P- 517- 
Av-a'ris, 30. 
A'vars, $07. 
Av'en-tine hill, 294 f. 

Bab'y-lon, 9; under Nebucha- 
drezzar, ss; Alexander at, 242. 

Bab-y-lo'ni-a, physical features 
of, i; beginnings, 8; first em- 
pire, 10 ff.; why so called, 9; 
new Babylonian empire, 55 f. 
See map facing p. 3. 

Bac'chus, 386. 

Bac-chyl'i-des, 140. 

Bac'tri-a, s8. See map following 
P- 234. 

Bal-e-ar'ic islands, Phoenicians in, 
41. See map following p. 476. 

Baths, at Rome, 461. 



Index 



559 



Bar-di'ya, s8. 

Bee-hive tombs, 75. 

Bel, god of Babylonia, 8, 11, 27. 

Bel'gi-ca, 433. See map follow- 
ing p. 434- 

Bel-i-sa'ri-us, 507. 

Ben-e-ven'tum, 324. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Bi'as, 102. 

Bible, 513. 

Bishop, 468 n., 489; of Rome, 
489 f. See "Papacy." 

Bi-thyn'i-a, 410. See map fol- 
lowing p. 434. 

Black sea, 88. See map facing p. 

3- 

Boe-o'ti-a, in Persian wars, 133, 
i37> 139; democracy in, 150; 
complications with Athens, 169 f. 
See map following p. 66. 

Bon'i-face, 516 f. 

Book of the Dead, 28. 

Bos'por-us, 410, 496. See map 
following p. 128. 

Bou'le, of Athens, 118, 121, 151. 

Bras'i-das, 182 f. 

Bren'nus, 319. 

Bribery at Rome, 385, 388. 

Britain, Phoenicians in, 41; Csesar 
in, 411 f.; under Claudius, 449; 
under Flavians, 454; Anglo- 
Saxons in, 516. See map fol- 
lowing p. 434. 

Brut'ti-um, 353. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Bru'tus, 416, 425 f. 

Burgundians, 503, 511. 

Bur'rus, 449. 

Business, Greek, 159. See "IMer- 
chant," "Industry." 

By-zan'ti-um, 88, 496. See map 
facing p. 89. 

Ca'diz, 41. See Gades. 
Cad-mei'a, 207. 
Cad'mus, 94. 



Cae'li-an hill, 284. See map on 
p. 286. 

Cte're, 320. See map following p. 
278. 

Cae'ri-tan rights, 320. 

CcEsar, Gaius Julius, his rise, 409; 
first triumvirate, 411; in Gaul, 
411 ff.; conflict with senate and 
Pompey, 414 f.; death, 416; 
his measures, 416 f.; as a writer, 
418 f.; his work and personality 
estimated, 420 f. 

Caesar, the title, 453, 491. 

Caesar-worship, 435, 467. 

Ca-la'bri-a, 279. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Calendar, 25, 339, 418. 

Ca-lig'u-la, 447. 

Ca'liphs, 510. 

Cal'li-as, 171. 

Cal-li-crat'i-das, 196. 

Cal-lim'a-chus, 259. 

Cal-lis'the-nes, 240. . 

Cam-a-ri'na, 348. 

Cam-by'ses, 37, 58. 

Ca-mil'lus, 303, 319. 

Cam-pa'ni-a, 320. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Cam'pus Mar'ti-us, 285. 

Ca'naan-ites, 3, 44. 

Canary islands, Phoenicians in, 
41. 

Can'nas, 352. See map following 
p. 278. 

Can-u-lei'an law, 316. 

Capitalism at Athens, 158 f.; at 
Rome, 362, 375 ff., 383 ff. 

Cap'i-to-line hill, 284, 294. 

Cap'ri, 447. See map following 
p. 278. 

Cap'u-a, 352. See map following 
p. 278. 

Car-a-cal'la, 483 f. 

Car'di-a, 249. 

Ca'ri-a, 166, 172. See map fol- 
lowing p. 128. 



560 



Index 



Carl, 518 f. 

Carl'o-man, 517 f. 

Car'mel, mt., 43. 

Car'men Sec-u-la're, 439. 

Car'rhas, 412. See map following 
p. 476. 

Carthage, founding of, 41; com- 
merce of, 41; in Sicily, 135,203 f., 
271 ff.; expansion in the West, 
343 f.; early relations to Rome, 
344 ; wars with Rome, 345 ff. ; be- 
comes a dependent ally, 354; de- 
stroyed, 372; Caesar's colony, 
418. See map facing p. 89. 

Cas'pi-an sea, 49, 57. See map 
facing p. 3. 

Cas-san'der, 249. 

Cas'si-us, Spurius, 300, 306; Gaius, 
416, 425 f. 

Cat-a-lau'ni-an Fields, 504. 

Cat'i-Iine, 410. 

Ca'to the Elder, as writer, 382; as 
censor, 385. 

Ca-tul'lus, 418 f. 

Cat'u-lus, 348. 

Cau'dine Forks, 322. See map 
following p. 278. 

Cavalry, Persian, 59 f., 141; Mace- 
donian, 221 f., 234; Roman, 296, 

Ce'crops, 82, 93. 

Celts, 3; in Greece and Asia 
Minor, 254 f.; in Italy, 302; at 
Rome, 318 f. 

Cen'sor, 305, 338 f.; under Flavi- 
an Caesars, 453. 

Census, under the Empire, 432. 

Centuries, 296 f. 

Ce-phis'sus, 115. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Cer'ber-us, 96. 

Ce'res, 293. 

Chae-ro-nei'a, 227. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Chal-cid'i-ce, 221. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 



Chal'cis, 83, 88. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Chal-de'ans, invasion by, 39; in 
Babylonia, 51; victory over 
Babylonians, 55; empire of, 55. 

Chal'ons, 504. See map facing p. 

517- 

Char'le-magne, his personality, 
518 f.; achievements, 519; em- 
peror, 520; significance, 520 f. 

Charles Martel, 512 f., 517. 

Chei'lon, 102. 

Children, 19 f., 60, 112, 161 f., 
335 ff. See "Education." 

Chi'os, 83. See map following 
p. 128. 

Chos'roes, 509. 

Christianity, founded, 440; be- 
ginnings of, 467 f.; persecutions, 
469, 481, 494 f.; growth in 
unity, 481, 489 f., 499; and 
power, 513; toleration of, 495; 
recognition of, by Constantine, 
487; in the cities, 499 n.; re- 
ligion of the Empire, 498 f.; 
Julian's attack, 499; as an im- 
perial power, 500 f.; the mo- 
nastic movement, 513 f.; lead- 
ers in fourth century, 513; and 
the barbarians, 516; and the 
Franks, 516 ff. See "Papacy." 

Chronology, eras of, 98, 287 n., 
440. 

Chrys'os-tom, 513. 

Cic'e-ro, his rise and ideals, 409; 
and Catiline, 410; banished 
and recalled, 412; as an orator 
and writer, 419; death, 426. 

Ci-li'ci-a, 88, 411. See map fol- 
lowing p. 234. 

Cim'bri, 398. 

Cim-in'i-an forest, 320. See map 
following p. 278. 

Ci'mon, 148 f., 150, 171. 

Cin-cin-na'tus, 304. 

Cin'na, 403. 



Index 



561 



Cir-ce'ii, 403. See map following 

p. 278. 
Circus Max'i-mus, 285, 291, 335, 

460. 
Cir'ta, 397. See map facing p. 

493- 

Cis-al'pine Gaul, 350, 372, 401. 
See map following p. 278. 

Ci-tha;'ron, 115. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Cit'i-um, 41. See map facing p. 
89. 

Citizen. See "Common People," 
"Franchise." 

"City of God," 514. 

City-state, in Orient, 8; in Greece, 
81 ff.; culmination in Greece, 
156, 167 f.; Rome, 281, 406 f. 

Civilization. See " Society. " 

Clau'di-us, 448 f. 

Cla-zom'e-nse, 206. See map fol- 
lowing p. 128. 

Cleis'the-nes, 121; his legislation, 
121 f. 

Cle-o-bu'lus, 102. 

Cle-om'bro-tus, 137, 208. 

Cle-om'e-nes, 127 f., 266 f. 

Cle'on, 179 ff. 

Cle-on'y-mus, 272. 

Cle-o-pa'tra, 415, 427 f. 

Cle'o-phon, 196. 

Cler'u-chi, 172, 326. 

Client, Roman, in early period, 
286; in the imperial period, 456. 

Cli'tus, 240. 

Clo'di-us, 412. 

Clo'vis, 511, 516. 

Clu'si-um, 301. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 

Cni'dos, 206. See map following 
p. 128. 

Cnos'sos, great palace at, 73; 
people, 73. See map facing p. 

77- 
Code of Hammurabi, 11 f.; of 
Moses, 43 f.; of Justinian, 508. 



Coinage, of Persian Empire, 59; 
in Greece, 99, 1 13, 158; at Rome, 
332 f., 431, 493. See "Ex- 
change. " 

Col'chis, 96 f. See map following 
p. 476. 

Col-is-se'um, 460, 462. 

Col-o'nus, 194. 

Colony, in Egyptian Empire, 35; 
of Phoenicians, 41; of Greeks, 
87 f.; Roman, 327 f.; Latin, 
328; failure at Rome, 387; 
Caesar's colonies, 418. 

Col'o-phon, 83. See map follow- 
ing p. 128. 

Comedy, at Athens, 165, 185, 251; 
at Rome, 382. 

Co-mit'i-a, meeting of, 338; un- 
der empire, 429, 450, 474, 492; 
Cu-ri-a'ta, 286, 300; Cen-tu- 
ri-a'ta, 300, 309, 327; Tri-bu'- 
ta, 307 f., 313, 327, 408. 

Commerce, early Egyptian, 6, 16; 
early Babylonian, 16, 18; in 
Kassite Babylonia, 13; of Phoe- 
nicians, 40 f.; of Damascus, 46; 
of Assyria, 52; of Mycensean 
age, 74 f.; of Greek middle 
(Homeric) age, 83, 89, 104; at 
Athens, 117 ff., 124 f.; pre- 
dominance of Athens in, 132, 
146 f., 156 ff.; how regarded in 
Greece, 79, 156 ff., 159; of 
Ptolemaic Kingdom, 255 f.; 
Rome's commercial position, 
284; Etruscan, 290, 292; atti- 
tude of early Romans toward, 
332; development of Roman, 
343 f-, 387, 406 f. 

Com'mo-dus, 471, 473 f. 

Common people, in ancient East, 
17 f.; in Greece, 150 f., 156, 167 
f.; at Rome, 286 f., 377 f., 440, 
457. See "Assemblies." 

Con-nu'bi-um, 327 n. 

Co'non, 206. 



562 



Index 



Con'stan-tine, 495; his achieve- 
ments, 496. 

Con-stan-ti-no'ple, 496 f., 508 f., 
510. See map facing p. 505. 

Con-stan'ti-us, elder, 491; young- 
er, 498. 

Consul, 299, 30s, 310 f., 314, 317, 

373, 405, 429- 448. 

Consular tribunes, 317. 

Co'ra, 86. 

Cor-cy'ra, 107, 174 f. See map 
facing p. 89. 

Cor-fin'i-um, 401. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Cor'inth, 83, 88, 106 f., 134, 169, 
174 f., 227; destroyed by Rome, 
370. See map following p. 66. 

Cor-i-o-la'nus, 304. 

Co-ri'o-li, 304. See map on p. 301. 

Cor-o-nei'a, 206. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Cor'si-ca, 343, 349. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Cor-u-pe'di-on, 253. 

Cos, 260. See map following p. 
128. 

Cosmogony, in ancient East, 26; 
Greek, loi; Roman, 464. See 
"World." 

Council. See "Senate." 

Cran'non, 248. 

Cras'sus, 382, 408, 410 ff., 432. 

Crem'e-ra, 303. See map on p. 
301. 

Cre-mo'na, 349. 

Cre'on, 95. 

Cres'cens, 460. 

Cres-phon'tes, 96. 

Crete, 42, 72 ff. See map facing 

P- 77- 
Cri-mi'sus, river, 271. 
Crit'i-as, 201 f. 

Croe'sus, King of Lydia, 56, 89. 
Cro'ton, 89. See map facing p. 89. 
Cu'mae, 140. See map following 

p. 278. 



Cu-nax'a, 204. See map follow- 
ing p. 234. 

Cu'nei-form, 21. 

Cu'ri-ffi, 287. See "Comitia curi- 
ata." 

Cu-ri-a'ti-i, 288. 

Cur'sus hon-o'rum, 387 n. 

Cu'rule, 377 n. 

Cyb'e-le, 262, 386. 

Cy'lon, 117. 

Cy'me, 89. See map facing p. 
180. 

Cyn-os-ceph'a-lae, 366. 

Cyp'ri-an, 490. 

Cy'prus, 40, 74, 169, 171, 236. 
See map following p. 234. 

Cyp'selus, 106. 

Cy-re'ne, 88. See map facing p. 
89. 

Cy'rus, of Persia, 56, 58, 236; the 
younger, 196, 204. 

Cyz'i-cus, 88, 195. See map fac- 
ing p. 89. 

Da'ci-a, a province, 475, 488. See 

map following p. 476. 
Dacian war, 475. 
Dal-ma'ti-a, 495. See map facing 

p. 509. 
Da-mas'cus, 46, 47; overthrow, 

50; Mohammedan, 510. See 

map facing p. 3. 
Dan-a'us, 93. 
Da-ri'us, I, organizer of Persian 

Empire, 59, 61 f.; II, 194, 204; 

■III, 233. 
David, of Israel, 44 ff. 
Deb'en, 18. 
Debt, law of, in ancient East, 18 f.; 

in Greece, 117 f.; at Rome, 306, 

313- 

Dec'arch-y, 200 f . 

De-ceb'a-lus, 475. 

Dec-e-le'a, 193. See map follow- 
ing p. 128. 

De-cem'vir-i, 311, 314 f. 



Index 



5G3 



De'ci-us, 487. 

De'ci-us Mus, 341. 

De-la'tors, 447. 

De'li-an, Confederacy, organiza- 
tion of, 145 f.; growth of Athe- 
nian power in, 147 £.; becomes 
an Athenian empire, 171 f. 

De'li-um, 182. See map facing p. 
180. 

De'Ios,amphictyony of, 98; Apollo 
at, 120; treasury of Delian Con- 
federacy, 146. See map facing 
p. 171. 

Del'phi, Apollo's oracle at, 89, 98; 
in Persian wars, 127, 133. See 
map following p. 66. 

Deme, 121 f. 

De-me'ter, 86, 103, 166. 

De-me'tri-us, 249 ff. 

Democracy, rise of, Greek, 108, 
119, 121 f.; Solon's service to, 
118 f.; development at Athens, 
131 f.; in the Greek world, 149 
ff . ; the Athenian democracy de- 
scribed, 150 ff., 161, 167 f.; its 
defects, 1S4, 198; at Rome, in 
time of the Gracchi, 391 f.; 
struggles with the senate, 396 f. 
See "Assemblies," "Common 
People." 

De'mos, 105, 107. 

De-mos'the-nes (general), 181 f., 
193; (orator), 225 f., 248 f. 

De-na'ri-us, 333. 

Deportation, 49. 

Deu-ca'li-on, 92. 

De-vo'ti-o, 341. 

Di-an'a, 293. 

Di-cas'ter-ies, 153. 

Dictator, 299, 303, 304, 319, 415. 

Di'o-cese, 492. 

Di-o-cle'ti-an, 491 ff. 

Di-o'do-tus, 180. 

Di-o-nys'i-a, 120, 165. 

Di-o-nys'i-us, I, 203, 210;. II, 210, 
217. 



Di-o-ny'sus, 86; religion of, 103; 
at Athens, 120; at Rome, 386. 

Diplomacy, meaning of, 35 n. 

Dis-pa'ter, 293. 

Do-mi'ti-an, 453, 469. 

Do'ri-ans, migration, 76 f.; organ- 
ization, 79 f.; Dorus and, 92. 

Dra'co, 117. 

Drama. See "Theatre." 

Dran-gi-an'a, 241. See map fol- 
lowing p. 234. 

Drep'a-na, 347. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 

Dress, in ancient East, 23; at 
Rome, 334, 338; in imperial 
Rome, 459. 

Drink, in ancient East, 23. 

Dru'sus, 396. 

Dy'ar-chy, 433, 435. 

Dynasty, 6 n. 

E'bro, 350. 

Ec-cle'si-a, of Athens, 151 ff. See 

"Assemblies." 
Ec-bat'a-na, 57. See map facing 

P-3- 

Ec'no-mus, 348. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 

Edict of Toleration, 495. 

Education, in ancient East, 52, 60; 
in Greece, 161 f., 167 f.; at 
Rome, 337 f., 380 f., 457, 464. 

Egypt, physical features, i; first 
kingdoms, 5 ft'.; empire of, 31. ff. 
(organization, 35; ruling classes, 
36; the army, 36; the priests, 
36; splendor, i2> f-); under As- 
syrian sway, 37; conquered by 
Nubians, 37; conquered b}^ Per- 
sia, 37; Greeks visit, 89; revolts 
from Persia, 130; Athenian ex- 
pedition to, 171; conquered by 
Alexander, 235 ft".; kingdom of 
Ptolemies, 225 ff., 25S f.; grad- 
ual reduction under Rome, 365, 
36S; under .\ugustus, 429 n.; 



564 



Index 



under Nero, 451. See "Alex- 
andria." 

Eighteenth dynasty, 31 f. 

Ek'ron, 42 n. See map facing p. 

3- 

E'lam-ites, home, 3; invade Baby- 
lonia, 9, 51; conquered by As- 
syria, 49. 

El'be, 434, 442. See map follow- 
ing p. 476. 

El-e-gi'ac poets, loi. 

Eleu'sis, 165 f. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

E'lis, 115, 149. See map following 
p. 66. 

Empire, meaning of, 10 n. See 
"Imperialism." 

Engineering, Egyptian, 24 f.; Ro- 
man, 462. 

En'ni-us, 382, 386. 

E-pam-i-non'das, 209 f. 

Eph'e-sus, 83. See map facing p. 
89. 

Eph-i-al'tes, 150, 155. 

Eph'ors, 114. 

Epic poetry, Babylonian, 21; 
Greek, 84 f., 97; Roman, 437. 

Ep-i-cu'rus, 266. 

Eq'ui-tes, 296, 377, 389; under 
Augustus, 436; in first century 
A.D., 459; in second century 
A.D., 474. 

Er-a-tos'the-nes, 258. 

E-rech-the'um, 94. 

E-rech'theus, 82, 93 f. 

E-re'tri-a, 88, 127. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Er'os, 86. 

E-sar-had'don, 49. 

Es'qui-line hill, 284. See map on p. 
286. 

E-te'o-cles, 95. 

Et-e-o-cre'tans, 71. 

E-thi-o'pi-a, 8. See "Nubia." 

E-tru'ri-a, 280, 290. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 



E-trus'cans, 279; at Athens, 173; 
at Rome, 290 ff.; expansion, 
290; Roman wars with, 300 ff.; 
conquest of, 320. 

Eu-boe'a, 83, 88. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Eu'clid, 258. 

Eu-er'ge-tes, 260. 

Eu-me'nes, 249; of Pergamon, 367. 

Eu-mol'pus, 82. 

Eu-phra'tes, river, i. See map fac- 
ing p. 3. 

Eu-rip'i-des, 184, 188 f., 381. 

Eu-ro'pa, 94. 

Eu-ro'tas, 109 f. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Eu-rym'e-don, 149. 

Eu-rys'theus, 95 f. 

Eu-se'bi-us, 498. 

Ex'arch, 518. 

Exchange, means of, in ancient 
East, 18, 59; in Greece, 99, 143; 
at Rome, 332. See "Coinage." 

Fa'bi-i, 303. 

Fa'bi-us Max'i-mus, 351; Pictor, 
382. 

Family, in ancient East, 19 f.; in 
Greece, 160 f.; at Rome, 286, 
335 ff.; decline of, 385; in Au- 
gustus's time, 436. 

Fa-yum', 8. 

Festivals, Greek religious, 98, 103, 
119 f., 164 f.; Roman, 292, 459. 

Feudal government, in Egypt, 7. 

Fi-de'nas, 303. See map following 
p. 278. 

Finances, at Athens, 168 f., 214; 
at Rome, 362, 431 f.; under Au- 
gustus, 362, 431 f.; in later em- 
pire, 493. 

Fis'cus, 431. 

Flam-i-ni'nus, T., 349. 

Fla'vi-an Caesars, 451. 

Food, in ancient East, 23; at Rome, 
32>2>, 379; in imperial Rome, 459. 



Index 



565 



Foreigners, in Greek cities, 156, 
159 f.; at Rome, 295, 457. 

Fo'rum of Rome, 285. 

Fourth Egyi^tian dynasty, 6. 

Franchise, in Greece, 108, 121 f., 
214; at Rome, 295 f., 299 f., 
325 f., 387 f., 396, 400 f.; ex- 
tension of, by Caesar, 417; by 
emperors, 477; edict of Cara- 
calla, 484. 

Franks, cross the Rhine, 487, 503; 
settle in Gaul, 511; kingdom of, 
511; "do-nothing" kings, 512; 
and the pope of Rome, 516 ff. 

Freedmen at Rome, 377, 457; 
under Augustus, 430; as officials 
under Claudius, 448 f. 

Future life, belief in, in Egypt, 28; 
in Babylonia, 28; in Greece, 87, 
103, 218. 

Ga'bi-i, 291. See map on p. 301. 

Gabinian law, 408. 

Ga'des, 41. See map facing p. 89. 

Gai'ser-ic, 504. 

Gai'us (Caligula), 447 f. 

Ga-la'ti-a, 255, 267. See map fol- 
lowing p. 434. 

Gal'ba, 451. 

Ga-le'ri-us, 491, 495. 

Gal-li-e'nus, 485. 

Gath, 42 n. See map facing p. 3. 

Gau-ga-me'la, 89. 

Gaul, Greek colonies in, 89; Ro- 
man province in, 398; Caesar in, 
413 f.; divided into provinces, 
433; Franks enter, 511; Mo- 
hammedans in, 511 f. See map 
facing p. 412. 

Gauls. See "Celts." 

Gau'ma-ta, 59. 

Ga'za, 42 n., 236. See map facing 

P-3- 
Ge'lon, of Syracuse, 134, 140. 
General. See"Strategoi." 
Gens, 287. 



Ger-man'i-cus, 446. 

Germans, enter Gaul, 413; cross 
the Danube, 476; settled in the 
Empire, 488; how affected by 
Rome, 506; conversion of, 516. 

Germany, and Augustus, 434, 442; 
and the Flavians, 454. 

Ge-ru'si-a, 114. 

Gil'ga-mesh, 21. 

Gladiatorial shows, 379, 460. 

Gods, of Babylonia, 27; of Egypt, 
27; of Israel, 43 ff.; of Assyria, 
52; of Persia, 60 f.; of Greece, 
86, 103; of Rome, 292 ff., 340 f. 

Gor'di-um, 234. 

Goths, cross the Danube, 487; in 
the Empire, 503. See "Ostro- 
goths," "Visigoths." 

Grac'chus, Tib. Semp., 392 f.; 
Gains, 394 ff. 

Gran-i'cus, 233. See map follow- 
ing p. 234. 

Gra'ti-an, 499. 

Greece, first appearance in Oriental 
history, 37; physical geography, 
65 f.; relation of its physical 
geography to its history, 66 f.; 
people, 68, 71; outline of its 
history, 68 f.; Neolithic Age, 
70; colonization, 87 f.; contact 
with the East, 89; Mycenaean 
age, 71 f.; middle age, 79 f.; 
age of political adjustment and 
expansion, 91 f.; elements of 
unity, 91; summary of progress 
to 500 B.C., 123 ff.; significance 
of victory over Persia, 141; 
summary of progress to suprem- 
acy of Philip, 229; revolt from 
Macedonia, 248; experiences 
under Alexander's successors, 
248, 250 f., 265 ff.; influence on 
Italy, 290; declared free by 
Rome, 366; becomes Roman, 
370; transformation of Roman 
life by Greek civilization, 37S flF. 



566 



Index 



Greg'o-ry, 516. 

Gy'ges, king of Lydia, 56, 89. 
Gy-lip'pus, 192 f. 
Gymnastics, 161 f. 

Ha'des, 87. 

Ha'dri-an, 471 f., 476, 478. 

Hal-i-ar'tus, 206. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Hal-i-car-nas'sus, 166, 234. See 
map following p. 128. 

Ha'lys, river, 56. See map facing 

P-3- 

Ha-mil'car, 348. 

Har-mo'di-us, 120. 

Har'most, 201. 

Ha-rus'pi-ces, 295. 

Has'dru-bal, 350 f. 

Hebrews, home, 3; divisions, 43. 
See "Israel." 

Hel-i-se'a, at Athens, 118, 152 f. 

Hel'le, 96. 

Hel'len, and the Hel-Ie'nes, 92. 

Hel'les-pont, 88, 120. 

He'lot, 109, 148. 

Hel-ve'ti-i, 413. 

He-phaes'tus, 86. 

He'ra, 86, 95. 

Her-a-clei'a, 324. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 

Her-a-clei'dae, 96. 

Her'acles, 86, 95 f., 220. 

Her-a-cli'tus, 102. 

He-rac'li-us, 509. 

Her-cu-la'ne-um, 452. 

Heresy, 481. 

Her'mae, 192. 

Her'mes, 86, 96; of Praxiteles, 215. 

Her'ni-ci, 300. 

Her'od, 439. 

Her-od'o-tus, 8, 41; on Cyrus, 58; 
on the Persians, 60, 106 f., 127 f., 
133 f.; on battle of Plattea, 140; 
on Athens, 144; his work, 166 f.; 
compared with'Thucydides, 188. 

Her-oph'i-lus, 258. 



Hes'i-od, 91 f., 100, 102. 

Hez-e-ki'ah, 50. 

Hi-e-ro-glyph'ics, 21. 

Hi'e-ron, tyrant, 150; king, 344. 

Him'e-ra, 140. 

Hip-par'chus, 120. 

Hip'pi-as, 120. 

Hip'po, 514. 

Hip-po-da-mi'a, 95. 

Hi'ram of Tyre, 45. 

Hit'tites, home, 3; invasions, 32; 
kingdom, 2,2) ', Egyptian wars, 34. 

Homer, 84, 100, 119. 

Hon-o'ri-us, 503. 

Horace, 438 f. 

Ho-ra'ti-i, 288. 

Ho-ra'ti-us Co'cles, 302. . 

Horse, in Egypt, 31. See "Cav- 
alry." 

Hor-ten'si-an law, 360. 

House, in ancient East, 22 f.; in 
Greece, 162; at Rome, 333, 378; 
in imperial Rome, 458. 

Huns, 503. 

Hy-das'pes, river, 241. 

Hyk'sos, 29, 30. 

Hy-perm-nes'tra, 93. 

Hyph'a-sis, river, 241. 

Hyr-ca'ni-a, 57. See map facing 
P-3- 

I-am'bic, 100. 

la-pyg'i-ans, 279. 

Iconoclastic controversy, 518. 

Ic-ti'nus, 166. 

Ikh-na'ton, 32. 

Il'i-ad, 84 f. 

Illyrians, 279; pirates, 350. 

Il-lyr'i-cum, 491. See map follow- 
ing p. 476. 

Im'bros, 206. See map following 
p. 128. 

Immortals, 59. 

Im-per-a'tor, 450. 

Imperialism, in earliest history, 
8 f., 10 f.; rise in Greece, 142 f.; 



Index 



567 



its conflict with the opposing 
Greek ideal, 177, 207, 210, 212 f., 
224; defeat of Athenian, 198 f.; 
Sparta's imperial policy, 200 f., 
203 f.; Theban imperialism, 
210; revival at Athens, 211; 
Isocrates's view, 218 f.; achieved 
finally by Philip, 227 f.; im- 
perialism of Alexander's suc- 
cessors, 249 ff.; of the Ptolemies, 
255; Roman, 326 ff., 363, 368 f., 
387, 406 f., 420 f., 430 ff., 434 f., 
450 f., 476 f., 491 f. 

Im-pe'ri-um, 299, 417, 428. 

India, Darius I in, 62; Alexander 
in, 240 f. 

Indo-European, or Indo-Germanic, 
family, 3 f., 54, 279. 

Industrial activities, in ancient 
East, 15 f.; in Phoenicia, 40; in 
Crete, 72, 75; in Greece, 79, 
157 f.; at Rome, 332, 376. 

Interest, rate in Greece, 159. 

Invasions, of Babylonia, 9, 13; 
of Egypt, 29, 32 f.; by Hittites, 
58; by northwestern peoples, 
22,, 37, 42; by Arameans, 39; 
by Chaldeans, 39; of Greece 
by Dorians, 76 f.; Barbarians 
in Roman Empire, 475 f., 487, 
498, 502 ff., 517 f.; Mohamme- 
dan, 510 f., 512. 

I'on, and I-o'ni-ans, 92. 

Ionian revolt, 127 f.; cities to 
Persia, 206. 

I-phic'ra-tes, 206. 

Ip'sus, 252. See map following 
p. 234. 

I-ran', 57. See map facing p. 3. 

I-re'ne, 520. 

I'sis, 262, 467. 

I-soc'ra-tes, 218 f. 

Is'ra-el, appearance, 43; in Egypt, 
43; in the desert, 43; settle- 
ment in Palestine, 43; conflicts 
with Philistines, 43; religion of, 



43 f.; organization of kingdom, 

44 f.; disruption of, 46; king- 
dom of Israel in the north, 46; 
destroyed, 50. 

Is'sus, 234. See map following p. 

234- 

I-tal'i-ca, 401. 

Italy, the name, 329; physical 
geography, 277 f.; historical 
contact with the East, 276 f.; 
peoples, 279 f.; historical geog- 
raphy, 280; influence on early 
Rome, 289 f.; union of Italy 
under Rome, 328 f.; economic 
decay of, 375 f., 387, 390 ff.; 
under Augustus, 430 ff. 

I-tho'me, mt., 149, 210. See map 
following p. 66. 

Jan-ic'u-lum hill, 284, 313. See 
map following p. 460. 

Ja'nus, 292. 

Ja'son, 96 f.; of Pherae, 208. 

Je-ho'vah, God of Israel, 43 ff. 

Je'rome, 513. 

Jerusalem, capital of Israel, 44; 
destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar, 
55; visited by Alexander, 236; 
stormed by Pompey, 411; by 
Titus, 454. See map facing p. 3, 

Jesus Christ, 439 f., 467. 

Jewelry, 25, 334, 336, 459.^ 

Jews, deported to Babylonia, 55, 
58; restored to Judea, 236; and 
Alexander, 236; the Maccabees, 
368; and Rome, 368; feeling 
toward Rome, 369; subjected 
by Rome, 411; Judaea a prov- 
ince, 411; revolt, 454. 

Jo-cas'ta, 94. 

Joseph in Egypt, 36 f. 

Jo-se'phus, 29, 236. 

Judah, kingdom of, 46; vassal of 
Assyria, 50; overthrown, 5$. 
See map following p. 434. 

Ju-gur'tha, 396 f. 



568 



Index 



Julia, daughter of Julius Caesar, 
411 f.; daughter of Augustus, 
440, 443. 

Julian, 498; Julian Caesars, 445 ff.; 
law, 401. 

Ju'no, 293. 

Ju'piter, 289, 293. 

Justice, administration of, in an- 
cient East, II f., 17, 19, 26, 49; 
in Greece, 80 f., 116, 153; in 
Roman Empire, 339, 477, 484 f., 
508. 

Jus-tin'i-an, 507 f. 

Ju'venal, 479. 

Kal'di, 39. See "Chaldeans." 
Ka-ma'res, epoch, 72; pottery, 72; 

painting, 72; frescoes, 72. 
Kar'nak, 33. 

Kas'sites, in Babylonia, 12 f., 29. 
Kef'tiu, 71. See "Cretans." 
Kha'ti, See "Hittites." 
Khe-ta'sar, 33. 
Khu'fu, 24. 
King. See "Ruler." 
Knights. See "Equites." 
Ko-ran', 510. 
Kryp-tei'a, iii. 

Lab'a-rum, 498. 

Lab'y-rinth, 8, 73. 

Lac-e-dae'mon, no. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

La'de, 128. See map facing p. 
171. 

La'gash. See "Shirpurla." 

Lam'a-chus, 192. 

Lamia and Lamian war, 248. 

Lamp'sa-cus, 196. See map fol- 
lowing p. 128. 

Land. See "Agrarian." 

La-oc'o-on, 257. 

La'res, 293, 436 f. 

Latin colony, 328. 

Latins, 280, 286; league of, 288 f., 
292, 300, 321. 



La'ti-um, 287 f., 322, 327. See 
map following p. 278. 

Lau'ri-um, 131. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Laut'u-lse, 322. 

La-vin'i-a, 287. 

Law, importance of, in ancient 
East, 19; international law in 
Greece, 99; lawgivers in Greece, 
105; at Sparta, 113 n.; at 
Athens, 117, 150; Greek law at 
Rome, 173; of Twelve Tables, 
311 f.; laws securing plebeian 
rights, 313 ff.; securing fran- 
chise to Italians, 401 ; conferring 
powers on Pompey, 408 f.; 
jurists under the military em- 
perors, 484 f.; German laws as 
affected by Rome, 507; code of 
Justinian, 508 f. See "Justice." 

League, Peloponnesian, 114 f.; 
Delian, 145 f.; leagues in later 
Greek history, 262 f., 271; 
Latin, 289, 291, 300, 304, 321. 

Leb'a-non mts., 33, 40. See map 
facing p. 3. 

Legion, 297, 329. 

Lem'nos, 206. See map following 
p. 128. 

Leo, pope, 516; emperor, 518. 

Le-on'i-das, 136. 

Lep'i-dus, 426 f. 

Leuc'tra, 208. See map following 
p. 66. 

Libraries, in ancient East, 22; 
Ashurbanipal's, 51 f.; at Athens, 
119; at Alexandria, 258; at 
Rome, 418, 462. 

Lib'y-a, 346. See map following 
p. 476. 

Li-cin'i-o-Sextian laws, 317. 

Ligurians, 279. 

Lil-y-bee'um, 274. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Lin'dos, 102 n. See map follow- 
ing p. 128. 



Index 



569 



Li'ris, river, 320. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Literature, in ancient East, 21, 34; 
in Egyptian empire, 34; in 
Assyria, 52; beginnings in 
Greece, 83 f.; development in 
Greece corresponding to politi- 
cal and social progress, 91 f.; 
great names and periods in 
Greece, 141 f., 165, 166 f., 185, 
187 ff., 215 ff., 225 f., 244 f., 
265 f.; in Alexandria, 256 f.; 
258 f.; beginnings at Rome, 340, 
381 f.; in Caesarian period, 
418 ff.; in Augustan age, 437 f., 
440 f.; in the first century a.d., 
462 ff.; in the second century 
A.D., 478 f.; Christian, 468, 
481, 490, 513, 514. 

Liv'i-a, 443 f. 

Liv'i-us (Livy), 437 f.; Androni- 
cus, 381. 

Lo'cri, 89, 105. See map facing 
p. 89. 

Lom'bards, 517 ff. 

Lu'ca, 412. See map following p. 
278. 

Lu'ci-an, 479. 

Lu-cil'i-us, 382. 

Lu-cre'ti-us, 418 f. 

Lu-cul'lus, 408. 

Lu'di SsEc-u-la'res, 439. 

Lug-du-nen'sis, 433. See map fol- 
lowing p. 476. 

Lux'or, 33. 

Ly-curgus, 105, 113 n. 

Lyd'i-a, empire of, 55, 89, 126; 
kingdom of, 56; coinage of, 99. 
See map facing p. 3. 

Lyn'ce-us, 93. 

Lyric poets, of Greece, 100, 141 f.; 
of Rome, 419. 

Ly-san'der, 196 f., 201 f., 204 ff. 

Ly-sim'a-chus, 252 f. 

Ly-sip'pus, 215. 



Mac'ca-bees, 261, 368. 

Mac-e-do'ni-a, Athenian difficulties 
with, 212; early history, 220 f.; 
under Philip, 221 ff., 226 ff.; 
under Alexander, 231 f.; under 
Alexander's generals, 248 ff.; 
wars with Rome, 365 ff. See 
map following p. 66. 

Mse-ce'nas, 427, 441 f. 

Magistrate, at Sparta, 114; at 
Athens, 116 ff., 150, 154; at 
Rome, 299 f., 305 f., 308 f., 310 
ff., 314 f., 327, 338 f., z^^ ff., 
358 ff., 361 ff., 373 f-, 388, 389, 
393, 405 ff-, 408, 417, 429, 433, 
441, 450, 453, 492. 

Magna Grsecia, 89, 271 f.; and 
Rome, 323 f. 

Mag-ne'si-a, 83, 366. See map 
following p. 128. 

Mal'ta, 41. 

Mam'er-tines, 344. 

Ma-mil'i-us, 303. 

Man'e-tho, 6 n., 29. 

Man-il'i-an law, 409. 

Man-ti-ne'a, 191, 210. See map 
following p. 66. 

Manufactures. See " Industrial 
Activities. " 

Mar'a-thon, 129 f. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Mar-co-man'ni, 476. 

Mar-do'ni-us, 129, 139. 

Mar-e-o'tis, lake, 236. See map 
on p. 237. 

Mar'i-us, Gaius, 397 f., 401 ff. 

Marriage, in ancient East, 20 ff.; 
at Rome, 336, 465. 

Mars, 293. 

Mar'ti-al, 464. 

Mas-sil'i-a, 89. See map facing 
p. 89. 

Mas-si-nis'sa, 354, 371. 

Mau-so'lus, his tomb, 215. 

Max-im'i-an, 491. 

Mayor of the palace, 512. 



570 



Index 



Mec'ca, 510. 
Me-de'a, 97. 
Medes, rise, 53 f.; empire of, 55; 

overthrow by Persians, 56. 
Medicine, in ancient East, 26; in 

imperial Rome, 457. 
Me-di'na, 510. 
Mediterranean sea, i, 9, 10, 31, 33, 

40. 
Me-don'ti-dae, 116. 
Medo-Persians, home, 3. 
Meg-a-lop'o-lis, 210. 
Meg'a-ra, 83, 88, 100, 115, 117 f., 

169. See map following p. 66. 
Me-gid'do, 32. See map facing p. 3. 
Me'Ios, 191. See map following 

p. 66. 
Mem'phis, 6. See map following 

P- 234. 

Me-nan'der, 251. 

Men-e-la'us, 95. 

Me'nes, 6. 

Merchants, in ancient East, 18 f.; 
in Greece, 159; at Rome, 332. 

Mes-o-po-ta'mi-a, 2; Roman prov- 
ince, 476, 483. See map fac- 
ing p. 3- 

Mes-sa'na. 344. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 

Mes-se'ni-a, wars with Sparta, 
no f.; alliance with Thebes, 
210. See map following p. 66. 

Mes-si'ah, 439 n., 467 f. 

Me-tau'rus, 353. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Met'ics, 159 f. 

' ' Metropol i tan , " 489 . 

Mi'das, king of Phrygia, 89. 

Migrations. See " Invasions. " 

Mil'an, 492, 500. See map fac- 
ing p. 517. 

Mi-le'tus, 56, 83, 88, loi, 127 f. 
See map facing p. 89. 

Mil-ti'a-des, 129 ff. 

Mi'na, 18, 158. 

Mi-ner'va, 294. 



IVIi-no'an, periods, 72. 

Mi'nos, 73. 

Min'o-taur, 94. 

Min-tur'nae, 403. 

Mith'ra, 489. 

Mith-ri-da'tes, 402 ff., 408 ff. 

Moe'si-a, 434. See map follow- 
ing p. 434. 

Mo-ham'med, 509 f. 

Mo-ham'me-dan-ism, 510 f., 513. 

Mo-los'si, 220. 

Mon'arch-y. See "Ruler." 

Mo-nas'ti-cism, 513 f. 

Mon'ey. See "Coinage" and 
"Exchange." 

Monks, 514. 

Moors, 487. 

Morality, in ancient East, 7, n f., 
19, 43 f., 69 f.; in Greece, 86, 
103, 142, 165 f., 184, 186 f., 189, 
218, 244 f., 266; at Rome, 340, 
369, 383 ff., 387; under Empire, 
436, 440, 464 f., 480. See 
"Christianity." 

Mosaic, 462. 

Moses, 43. 

Motives of progress in Ancient 
History, expansion, 8 f., 10, 31, 
177; religion, 31, 43 f.; inva- 
sion, 9, 29 f., 39, 71, 76 f., 79 f., 
140, 219, 506; commerce, 16, 
18, 40 f., 290; wealth, 15, zy> 
organization, 59 f., 430 ff., 491 f. 

Mu'ci-us, Scsev'o-la, 303, 383. 

Mum'mi-us, 370. 

Mun'da, 416. See map follow- 
ing p. 476. 

Mu-ni-cip'i-a, Cesar's law for, 418; 
in Empire, 430, 477. 

Museum at Alexandria, 258. 

Music, Greek, 100, 161 f. 

Mut'i-na, 426. 

Myc'a-le, 140. See map follow- 
ing p. 170. 

My-ce'nas, 72. See map follow- 
ing p. 76. 



Index 



571 



My-ce-nffi'an civilization, 71, 74; 
pottery, 72; houses and forti- 
fications, 74; commerce, 75; 
respect for dead, 75; religion, 
75 f.; decline of, 76. 

My'lse, 346. See map following 
p. 278. 

Myr'til-us, 95. 

Mysteries, 103 f., 165 f. 

]\Iyt-i-le'ne, 83. See map follow- 
ing p. 128. 

Na'bu, 52. 

Nse'vi-us, 382. 

Na'ram Sin, 10. 

Nar'bo, 398. 

Nar'ses, 507. 

Nau-cra'ries, Council of, 116. 

Nau'cra-tis, 37. See map facing p. 89. 

Nau-pac'tus, 169. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Navy, 107, 131, 170 f., 194, 195 f., 
235 f-, 345, 346 iJf. See "Com- 
merce. " 

Nax'os, 148. See map following 
p. 128. 

Ne-ar'chus, 241. 

Neb-u-chad-rez'zar, 55. 

Neph'e-le, 96. 

Ne'pos, 420. 

Nep'tune, 293. 

Ne'ro, 449 f., 469. 

Ner'va, 471. 

Neus'tri-a, 511. See map facing 

P- 517- 

New Comedy, 251. 

New Platonism, 48S f. 

New Testament, 468. 

Ni-cas'a, 487, 499. See map fac- 
ing p. 509. 

Nic'i-as, 179, 192 f. 

Nic-o-me'di-a, 492. See map fac- 
ing p. 509. 

Nile, I. See map facing p. 3. 

Nin'e-veh, 48; fall of, 51, 53. See 
map facing p. 3. 



Nip'pur, 8, 13. See map facing 

P-3- 

Nobility, in ancient East, 17; at 
Rome, 377. 

Nome, 5. 

Nor'i-cum, 434. See map fol- 
lowing p. 434. 

Not'i-um, 195. See map facing 
p. 180. 

Nu'bi-a, 8, 31. See map facing 

P- 3- 
Num'a, 288 f., 293. 
Nu-man'ti-a, 372. 
Nu-mid'i-a, 354; war with, 396 f. 

See map following p. 434. 

Occupations, of early civilized 
man, 14 f.; of Greek middle age, 
79; of early Romans, 331 f.; 
change in, 375 f.; under the Em- 
pire, 457 f. 

Oc-ta'vi-us, 426. See "Augus- 
tus." 

0-do-va'car, 505. 

0-dys'seus, 84. 

Od'ys-sey, 84 f. 

CE'cist, 88. 

CEd'ip-pus, 94 f. 

CE-no-ma'us, 95. 

CE-noph'y-ta, 170. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

0-guI'ni-an law, 310. 

Ol'bi-a, 88. See map facing p. 
89. 

Oligarchy, 200. See "Aristocra- 
cy." 

0-Iym'pi-a, festival at, 98. See 
map following p. 66. 

Olympiads, 98. 

0-lym'pus, 86. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

0-lyn'thus, 207. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

O'men, 294, 338. 

O'pis, 242. See map following 
p. 234. 



572 



Index 



Oracles, Greek, 98. 

Or-chom'en-us, 404. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Oriental world, physical features, i, 
2; peoples, 2; its beginnings, 5. 

Or'i-gen, 490. 

Or'tho-dox-y, 499. 

O-si'ris, 28. 

Os'ti-a, 403. See map following 
p. 278. 

Os'tra-cism, 122. 

Os'tro-goths, 503, 505, 507. 

O'tho, 451. 

Ov'id, 440 f. 

0-vin'i-an law, 325 n. 

Pa'dus, 278. See"Po." 

Pas-o'ni-us, 215. 

Pag'a-sae, 74. See map following 
p. 128. 

Palace epoch, 72. 

Pal'a-tine hill, 284, 429, 456 n. 

Pal 'es- tine, 43; origin of name, 43; 
under Ptolemies, 252, 255. See 
map facing p. 3. 

Pal-my'ra, 487. See map follow- 
ing p. 476. 

Pan-ath-en-ae'a, 164, 166 f. 

Pan'dects, 508. 

Pan-no'ni-a, 434. See map fol- 
lowing p. 434. ■ 

Pan-or'mus, 347. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 

Pan'sa, 458. 

Pa'pa-cy, 515 ff- 

Pa-pin'i-an, 485. 

Pa-pin'i-an law, 401. 

Pa-py'rus, 15. 

Par-me'ni-o, 240. 

Par-nas'sus, 92. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Par'nes, mt., 115, 202. See map 
following p. 66. 

Par'non, mt., no. 

Pa'ros, 130. See map following 
p. 180. 



Par'the-non, 164, 166. 

Par'thi-a, 58; and Rome, 410, 412, 
432, 475 f.; Sassanid dynasty, 
487. See map following p. 60. 

Parties, in Athens, 179; in Greek 
cities, 214; rise at Rome, 387, 

393- 
Patricians, 286. 
Paul, 468. 
Pau-sa'ni-as, 139, 144 f., 148 f.; 

II, 204. 
Pa'vi-a, 518. See map facing p. 517. 
Pe'li-as, 96 f. 
Pel'la, 223. See map following 

p. 66. 
Pe-lop'i-das, 209, 210. 
Peloponnesian League, founded, 

114; in Persian wars, 134, 144; 

and Athens, 169; declares war, 

175- 

Peloponnesian War, 177 ff. 

Pel-o-pon-ne'sus, 65. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Pe'lops, 95. 

Pel'tast, 213. 

Pe-na'tes, 293. 

Per-dic'cas, 233, 249. 

Per'ga-mon, 257, 267, 372. See 
map following p. 128. 

Per-i-an'der, 102 n., 107 f. 

Per'i-cles, 164; age of, 156 ff., 168; 
and Peloponnesian War, 178; 
death, 179; and the higher life 
of Athens, 186 f. 

Per-i-oe'ci, no. 

Perpetual Edict, 474. 

Per-seph'o-ne, 86. 

Per-sep'o-lis, 57, 238. See map 
facing p. 3. 

Per'seus, 367. 

Persia, physical features, 57 f.; 
empire of, rise, 56; extent, 58 f., 
59; organization, 59 f.; people, 
60; civilization, 61; expansion, 
62; threatens Greece, 127; ex- 
peditions against Greece, 129 f., 



Index 



573 



132 f.; driven from Greece, 140; 
from the Mediterranean, 140; 
Athenian expeditions, 170 f.; 
peace of Callias, 171; re- 
appearance in Peloponnesian 
War, 194; dominating influence, 
202; war with Sparta, 205 f.; 
condition at invasion of Alex- 
ander, 233; overthrown by 
Alexander, 239; revival under 
Sassanians, 487, 507; conquered 
by Mohammedans, 510. See 
map facing p. 3. 

Pe-tro'ni-us, 463. 

Pha-le'rum, 250. 

Pha'raoh, title, 6. 

Phar-na-ba'zus, 194. 

Phar-sa'lus, 415. 

Pha'rus, 236. 

Phei'don, iii. 

Pher'ffi, 208. See map following 
p. 66. 

Phid'i-as, 164. 

Philip of Macedon, 212, 221 ff.; 
his ideals and purposes, 223 f.; 
master of Greece, 227 f.; death, 
231; V, 268; allies with Hanni- 
bal, 352; wars with Rome, 365 f. 

Phil-ip'pi, 222, 426. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Phil-ip'pics, 426 n. 

Phil-is'tines, 40, 42 f. 

Philosophy, early Greek, loi; at 
Athens, 186 f.; in the third 
century B.C., 265 f.; at Rome, 
381, 386; under the Empire, 
465 f-, 473, 488 f. 

Phi-lo'tas, 240. 

Pho-cae'ans, 89. 

Pho'ci-ans, 169, 226. 

Phoe-ni'ci-ans, home, 3; geogra- 
phy of Phoenicia, 40; civiliza- 
tion, 40; commerce, 40 f.; ser- 
vice to civilization, 42; empire 
of, 41; influence on Italy, 290; 
in Graeco-Persian wars, 235 f. 



Phrat'ry, 79 f. 

Phrix'us, 96. 

Phryg'i-a, 89. See map following 
p. 128. 

Phy'le, 202. See map facing p. 
171. 

Physical geography, influence on 
history, 15, 280, 283 f., 494. 

Pi'e-tas, 295. 

Pi'late, 467. 

Pin'dar, 140, 141 f. 

Pin'dus, mts., 65. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Pip'pin, the elder, 512; the young- 
_er, 517. 

Pi-ras'us, 131, 146, 157, 199, 202. 
See map following p. 66. 

Pirates, 410. 

Pi-sis' tra-tus, 119 f., 156. 

Pit'ta-cus, 102 n., 105. 

Pla-cen'ti-a, 349. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Pla-t£e'a, 129, 139 f., 179. See map 
following p. 66. 

Plato, 217 f., 244. 

Plau'tus, 382. 

Ple-bei'ans, 286; struggles with 
patricians, 306 ff . ; victory over 
them, 313. 

Plin'y, the elder, 464; the young- 
er, 480, 481. 

Plu'tarch, 479. 

Plu'to, 86. 

Po river, 278. See map following 
p. 278. 

Po-ly'bi-us, 368, 384. 

Pol-y-nei'ces, 95. 

Pol-y-per'chon, 249. 

Pom-pei'i, 452, 461. See map 
following p. 278. 

Pom'pey, 407 f. ; victories in the 
East, 410 f.; first triumvirate, 
411; sole consul, 412; conflict 
with Caesar, 414 f. ; death, 415. 

Pon'ti-fex, 293, 339, 436. 

Pon-ton'o-us, 84. 



574 



Index 



Pon'tus, wars of Rome with, 402 
ff., 410. See map following p. 
434- 

Pope, 515 f., 517 ff- 

Pop-lic'o-la, law of, 313. 

Population, of Greek cities, 156, 
214; of Roman Italy, 327. 

Por'sen-a, 301 ff. 

Po-sei'don, 86, 93. 

Prae'tor, 299. 

Prtetorian guard, 431, 450, 483. 

Prax-it'e-les, 275. 

Prefects, Roman, 327, 431. 

Pri-e'ne, 102 n. 

Priesthood, in ancient East, 21, 23, 
26 f.; in Egyptian empire, 36 f.; 
in Greece, 80, 98; at Rome, 293. 

Prin'ceps, 429; growth of power, 
441, 451; as tyranny, 453; in- 
creasing state of, 456; imperial 
council of, 474; theory of, by 
third-century jurists, 485; trans- 
formed into absolute ruler, 492. 

Pro'bus, 488. 

Proconsul, 373. 

Prophets of Israel, 44, 58. 

Pro-tag'o-ras, 186. 

Provincial government, in Egyp- 
tian empire, 35; in Assyrian 
empire, 49; in Persian empire, 
59 f.; origin of Roman provin- 
cial system, 362 f. ; Roman prov- 
inces in 133 B.C., 372; Roman 
provincial organization, 372 ff.; 
trial court for governors, 374; 
defects of, 387; importance of 
provinces to Rome, 406; reor- 
ganization under Augustus, 429; 
imperial provinces, 430 f.; un- 
der Julian Caesars, 451; assem- 
blies, 467; under Diocletian, 
491 f. 

Pryt'a-ny, 122. 

Psam-met'i-cus, 37. 

Ptol'e-my, I, 250 ff., 255; II, 
255 f., 259 f.; Ill, 260; IV, 268. 



Public land. See "Agrarian." 

Pub-li-ca'ni, 362, 373, 432. 

Pub-lil'i-an law (Vol 'e-ro) ,312,314. 

Pu'nic wars: first, 345 ff.; sec- 
ond, 350 ff.; third, 371 f. 

Pyd'na, 367. 

Py'los, 180 ff., 183. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Pyramids, 6, 24, 26, 102. 

Pyr'rha, 92. 

Pyr'rhus, of Epirus, 253; in Italy 
and Sicily, 273 f., 324. 

Py-thag'o-ras, 102. 

Quaes'tor, 299. 
Quin-til'i-an, 464. 
Quir'i-nal, 284. 

Ram'ses II, 32 ff., 43; III, ;^^, 42. 

Raph'i-a, 268. 

Rau'dine plains, 399. 

Ra-ven'na, 505, 518. See map fac- 
ing p. 517. 

Re, Egyptian god, 27, 34. 

Red sea, 6, 43. See map facing p. 3. 

Re-gil'lus, battle of Lake, 303. 

Reg'u-lus, 347 f. 

Religion, in ancient East, 26-28; 
of Israel, 43 f.; of Assyria, 52; 
of Persia, 60 f.; of early Greece, 
85 ff.; influence of Zeus and 
Apollo in, 87, 97 f.; Greek prob- 
lems of, 100 f.; progress of, as 
related to growth of civilization, 
103; in iEschylus, 142; influ- 
ence of Greek philosophers on, 
186; Stoicism and Epicurean- 
ism, 265 f.; of early Rome, 292 
ff., 295, 340 f.; decline of, 385 f. 
revived under Augustus, 436 f. 
in the first century a.d., 466 f. 
of Alexander Severus, 484 
in third century, 488 f. See 
"Christianity." 

Re'mus, 287. 

Rex sa-cro'rum, 297. 



Index 



575 



Rhfe'ti-a, 434. See map follow- 
ing p. 434. 

Rhetoricians at Athens, 184; at 
Rome, 381, 458. 

Rhine, river, 413. See map fol- 
lowing p. 434. 

Rhodes, and Rome, 367 f. See 
map following p. 128. 

Rhone, river, 413. See map fac- 
ing p. 493. 

Ric'i-mer, 504. 

Roman church, 489 f., 515. See 
"Papacy." 

Rome, origin, 281, 287; geography, 
283 f.; union of peoples in, 286; 
a city-state, 286; early legends 
of, 287 f.; influence of Italy on 
its origin, 288 f.; under Etrus- 
can Kings, 290 ff.; political 
reorganization by Servius, 296 f . 
overthrow of kingship, 297 f. 
struggle with neighbors, 299 ff. 
struggle of patricians and ple- 
beians, 305 ff.; the Celtic terror, 
318 f.; its result, 319; expan- 
sion in Italy, 320 ff.; victory 
of plebeians, 313 ff.; rise of dis- 
tinctions of wealth and office, 
325; organization of Roman 
Italy, 326 ff.; Roman society 
and manners, early period, 
331 ff.; relations to Carthage 

- and wars, 343; early embassy to 
Greece, 173; war with Magna 
Grascia and Pyrrhus, 323 f.; 
early complications with Greek 
world, 273 f.; attitude toward 
Eastern powers, 368 f.; wars 
with Macedonia, 365; with 
Syria, 366 f.; Rome an imperial 
state, 368 ff.; society and man- 
ners under Hellenistic influence, 
375 ff.; era of party struggles, 
392 f.; victory of Cassar, 416; 
a world-empire, 424 ff.; under 
Augustus, 427 ff.; under Julian 



Caesars, 445 ff.; fire at, 450; 
under Flavian Cfesars, 451 ff.; 
society and manners in the first 
century a.d., 456 ff.; under the 
constitutional emperors, 471 ff.; 
under the military emperors, 
483 ff.; city fortified, 488; un- 
der the Despotism, 491 ff.; 
rivalled by Constantinople, 496; 
captured by Alaric, 503; by 
Gaiseric, 505; and the Roman 
church, 489 f., 515 f.; division 
into Eastern and Western Em- 
pires, 502 f.; fall of Western Em- 
pire, 505; influence on the bar- 
barians, 506 f.; revival under 
Justinian, 507 f.; influence of 
Eastern Empire, 508 f.; Mo- 
hammedan attacks, 510; pass- 
ing of Empire with Charle- 
magne's accession, 520 f. 

Rom'u-lus, 287 f. 

Rom'u-lus Au-gust'u-lus, 505. 

Rox-a'na, 239, 249. 

Ru'bi-con, 414. 

Ruler, in ancient East, 17; in 
Egyptian empire, 17; in Per- 
sian empire, 61; in early Greece, 
74, 80, 81, 82; in Sparta, 114; 
the Greek tyrant, 105 ff.; king 
at Athens, 115 f.; divinity of, 
246; king at Rome, 287, 295 ff.; 
in Roman Empire (see "Prin- 
ceps"); absolute monarch, 491 f.; 
Frankish king, 511 f.; ca- 
liphs, 510. 

Sa-bel'li-ans, 2S0. 

Sa'bines, 2S8, 300. 

"Sacred Band" of Thebes, 209. 

Sacred war, 223, 225. 

Sa-gun'tum, 350. See map fac- 
ing p. 343. 

Sa'is, 37. 

Sal'a-mis, 118, 137 f. See map 
following p. 66. 



576 



Index 



Sal 'lust, 419 f. 

Sa-ma'ri-a, 46; destroyed, 50. 
See map facing p. 3. 

Sa-mar'i-tans, 236. 

Sam'nites, 280; Roman wars with, 
320 ff. 

Sa'mos, 83, 172. See map fol- 
lowing p. 128. 

Samuel, 44. 

Sap'pho, loi. 

Sar-din'i-a, Phoenicians in, 41; 
Carthaginians in, 343; Romans 
take, 349. See map following 
p. 278. 

Sar'dis, 56. See map facing p. 180. 

Sar'gon of Accad, 8; autobiogra- 
phy, 9; conquests, 10; his 
library, 22; his empire, 9; of 
Assyria, 49. 

Sas-sa'ni-ans, 487. 

Sa'trap, 59 f. 

Sat-ur-na'li-a, 459. 

Saul, 44. 

•Saxons, 516. 

Scasv'o-la, Mucins, 303; the ju- 
rist, 383. 

Science, in ancient East, 25; in 
Greece, loi; at Rome, 339, 
464. 

Scip'i-o, Pub. Cornelius, 353; L. 
Cornelius, 366; the younger, 384, 

394- 

School. See "Education." 

Sco'pas, 215 f. 

Scribe, in ancient East, 21. 

Sculpture, in ancient East, 25, 
33 f.; Assyrian, 51; Greek, 164, 
215 f.; at Rome, 339 f.; por- 
trait statues, 462. 

Scy'ros, 206. See map following 
p. 66. 

Scyth'i-ans, invade the east, 55; 
Darius I attacks, 62, 126 f. 

Se-ja'nus, 447. 

Se-leu'cus, 249 f.; kingdom, 261 f., 
367, 410 f. 



Sel-Ia'si-a, 267. 

Sem'ites, origin and home, 2; 
distribution, 2 f.; passing of 
their power, 55. 

Senate, Greek, 80, 114, 116, 118, 
121 f., 151; Roman, origin, 287; 
early history, 300; practical 
dominance of, 326, 354 ff.; 
plebeians admitted to, 309; 
methods of doing business, 
357 ff.; powers of, 359 f.; and 
the nobility, 377; difficulties 
of, 389 f.; struggle with the 
democracy, 392 ff.; failure in 
administration, 396; legally su- 
preme under Sulla, 405 f.; con- 
flict with Caesar, 414 f.; re- 
organized by Caesar, 417; joint 
rule with Augustus, 428; Au- 
gustus reorganizes, 436; and 
Augustus, 441; and Julian 
Caesars, 450; and Flavian Cae- 
sars, 453; and constitutional 
emperors, 474; under absolute 
monarchy, 492. 

Sen'e-ca, 449, 463, 466. 

Sen-nach'er-ib, 49 ff.; and Judah, 
50 f. 

Sen-ti'num, 323. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Ser-a'pis, 262. 

Ser-to'ri-us, 407 f. 

Ser'vi-us Tul'li-us, 291, 296. 

Ses'tos, 140. See map following 
p. 128. 

Se'ti I, 32 f. 

"Seven against Thebes," 84, 95. 

"Seven Wise Men" of Greece, 102. 

Se-ve'rus, Sep-tim'i-us, 483; Alex- 
ander, 484. 

Shek'el, 18. 

Shir-pur'la, 8. See map facing p. 3. 

Sib'yl, 295. 

Sic'i-ly, Phoenicians in, 41; Greek 
colonies in, 88; in Persian wars, 
134 f.; democracy in, 149 f.; 



Index 



577 



Syracuse and Athens, 192 f.; 
empire of Dionysius, 203; events 
after its fall, 270 f., 272 ff.; 
Carthage and Rome in, 343 ff., 
346 ff.; Roman province, 362 f.; 
slave wars in, 387. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Sic'y-on, 107, 115. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Si'don, 40. See map facing p. 3. 

Si-ge'um, 118. See map facing p. 
180. 

Silver Age, 463. 

Si-mon'i-des, 140. 

Si'na-i, 6, 31. See map facing 

P- 3- 

Si-no'pe, 88. See map facing p. 
89. 

Sixth Eg}T3tian dynasty, 6. 

Slavery and Slaves, in ancient 
East, 18; in Egyptian empire, 
33j 35 ; in Greece, 160; at 
Rome, 377 f., 385, 387, 407, 
457; 459i 466; coloni, or serfs, 
494- 

Slavs, 3. 

Social war, in Greece, 212; in 
Italy, 401. 

Society, organization in ancient 
East, 16 f.; in early Greece, 
79 f., 85; in Athens in age of 
Pericles, 162 f., 167 f.; in early 
-Rome, 331 ff.; transformation, 
375 ff., 383 ff.; at Rome under 
Augustus, 436, 440 f.; classi- 
fication of, at Rome in first cen- 
tury, A.D., 455 f.; in the sec- 
ond century a.d., 479 f.; in the 
third century, 486. 

Soc'ra-tes, 189, 216 f. 

Sois-sons', 5x7. See map facing p. 

517- 
Solomon of Israel, 45 f. 
So'lon, lawgiver of Athens, 102, 

105, 117 f.; his legislation, 118 f.; 

outcome, 156. 



So-phi'a, St., church of, 507, 

Soph'ists, 184. 

Soph'o-clcs, 95, 165. 

Spain, Phrenicians in, 41; Greeks 
in, 89; Carthaginians in, 343, 
350; becomes Roman, 353; un- 
der Augustus, 432; Moham- 
medans in, 511. See map fac- 
ing p. 89. 

Sparta, primitive organization, 
109 f.; expansion, no; wars 
with Messenians, no f.; Spar- 
tan character, 112; development 
of culture and its suppression, 
113 f.; final organization of 
political system, 114 ; headship 
of Peloponnesian League, 115; 
in alliance against Cyrus, 115; 
in Persian wars, 135 f., 139 f., 
144 ff.; jealousy of Athens, 148; 
growth of oligarchy, 150; com- 
plications with Athens, 169; 
war with Athens, 170 ff.; fifty 
years' peace signed, 183; vic- 
tory over Athens, 196; terms of 
peace, 199; imperialistic pro- 
gramme, 200 ff.; war with Per- 
sia, 205; peace of Antalcidas, 
206; Sparta supreme, 207; 
revolt of Thebes, 208; later his- 
tory, 265, 266 f. 

Spar'ta-cus, 407 f. 

Sphac-te'ri-a, 181. See map fol- 
lowing p. 66. 

Spu'ri-us Cas'si-us, 300, 306; Mse'- 
li-us, 306. 

Sta'ti-us, 463 f. 

Stil'i-cho, 503. 

Sto'i-cism, 265 f.; at Rome, 
46s f. 

Strat'e-goi, at Athens, 122, 131, 
154; in later Leagues, 263. 

Succession, problem of, in Roman 
Empire, 443 f., 453, 474, 4S3, 

491. 
Su-e'vi, 503. 



578 



Index 



Sul'la, L. Cornelius, 398, 400 ff.; 

his administration, 404 f.; its 

failure, 406 f. 
Sul-pi'ci-us, 402. 
Su-me'ri-ans, 8. 
Su'sa, 57, 238. See map facing 

P- 3- 

Syb'a-ris, 89. See map facing p. 
89. 

Syr'a-cuse, founded, 88; Gelon, 
tyrant of, 134 f.; wars with 
Carthage, 135, 203, 270 f.; 
Hieron, tyrant of, 149 f.; de- 
mocracy in, 149 f.; Athenian 
expedition against, 191 ff.; 
under Dionysius I, 203; Hieron, 
king of, 344; complications 
with Rome, 344 f. See map 
following p. 88. 

Syr'ia, 5; under Babylonian sway, 
12 f.; under Egyptian sway, 31; 
empires of, 39-48; under Assyr- 
ian sway, 48 ff.; complications 
with Rome, 366 f.; becomes a 
Roman province, 411. See map 
facing p. 3. 

Tac'i-tus, 478 f. 

Tal'ent, 18, 158. 

Tan'a-gra, 169. See map follow- 
ing p. 66. 

Ta-ren'tum, 89, 271 f.; treaty 
with Rome, 323; war with Rome 
and submission, 324 f.; revolt 
and subjugation, 353. See map 
following p. 278. 

Tar-quin'i-i, 287. 

Tar-quin'i-us, Priscus, 290; Super- 
bus, 291, 295, 302, 304. 

Tar'sus, 234. See map facing p. 

493- 

Tar'tar-us, loi. 

Taxes, in ancient East, 17 f.; 
35 f., 45, 49, 59; Athenian, 160, 
168; Roman, 367, 373; im- 
perial, 432. 



Ta-yg'e-tus mts., no. See map 
following p. 66. 

Teaching at Rome, 457 f. 

Teg'e-a, 114. See map following 
p. 66. 

Tel-el-A-mar'na letters, 35. 

Tem'e-nus, 96. 

Temple, in ancient East, 24; in 
Egypt, 33; of Solomon, 45; at 
Athens, 163 f.; at Rome, 436, 
438 f. 

Ten Commandments, 44. 

Ter'ence, 382. 

Ter-pan'der, 113. 

Ter-tul'li-an, 481, 490. 

Tet'ri-cus, 487. 

Teu'to-nes, 398. 

Teu-ton'ic peoples. See "Ger- 
mans." 

Tha'les, loi f. 

Thap'sus, 415. See map follow- 
ing p. 476. 

Tha'sos, 149. See map following 
p. 66. 

The-ag'e-nes, 117. 

Theatre, at Athens, 120, 165, 167; 
at Rome, 335, 380, 461. 

Thebes (in Boeotia), in Persian 
wars, 127, 133; rises against 
Sparta, 208; imperialistic ideal 
of, 210; failure, 211; real 
achievement, 211; destroyed 
by Alexander, 232. See map 
following p. 66. 

Thebes, capital of Eg3^t, 7, 30, 
31, 33. See map facing p. 3. 

The-mis'to-cles, 131, 138, 141, 
146, 148 f. 

The-oc'ri-tus, 256. 

The-od'or-ic, 505. 

The-o-do'si-us, 498, 500, 503; 
penance of, 500 f. 

The-og'nis, loi. 

The-ram'e-nes, 195 f. 

Ther-mop'y-lse, 135 f. See map 
following p. 66. 



Index 



579 



The'ron, 140, 201 f. 

The'seus, 82, 94. 

Thes'pis, 120. 

Thes-sa-lo-ni'ca, 500. See map 

following p. 66. 
Thes'sa-ly, tyrants of, 210. See 

map following p. 66. 
Thirty, at Athens, 201 f. 
Thrace, 449. See map following 

p. 128. 
Thras-y-bu'lus, 106. 
Thu-cyd'i-des, the historian, 187 f.; 

on founding of Athens, 82. 
Thu-cyd'i-des, son of Mel-e'si-as, 

172. 
Thu'ri-i, 173. See map following 

p. 278. 
Thut'mose, III, 31 f. 
Ti'ber, 279. See map following 

p. 278. 
Ti-be'ri-us, 443, 445 £f. 
Ti'bur, 478. See map on p. 301. 
Ti-ci'nus, 351. See map following 

p. 278. 
Tig-lath-pi-le'ser, III, 49 f. 
Ti-gra'nes, 410. 
Ti'gris, river, i. See map facing 

P- 3- 
Ti-moc'ra-cy, 108. 
Ti-mo'le-on, 270 f. 
Ti-m^o'theus, 211. 
Tir'yns, 74. See map facing p. 

■77- 
Tis-sa-pher'nes, 194, 196. 
Ti'tans, loi. 
Ti'tus, 452. 
To'ga, 296, 334, 338. 
Tours, 512. See map facing p. 

517- 
Trades, in ancient East, 16; at 

Rome, 332. See "Industrial 

Activity." 
Tradition, meaning of, 10 n. 
Tra'jan, 471, 475, 477. 
Tra-pe'zus, 88. See map facing 

p. 89. 



Tras-i-me'nus, 351. See map fol- 
lowing p. 278. 

Treaty, Ramses and Hittites, 2,2>\ 
Greek, 171, 199, 206 f.; Roman, 
323, 328, 343, 349> 354, 365- 

Treb'i-a, 351. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 

Tribal system, 79, 511. 

Tribe, at Rome, 325, 327. 

Tri-bo'ni-an, 508. 

Trib'une, origin, 307 f.; trans- 
formation, 309. 

Tribuniciary power of Augustus, 
429, 436. 

Trib'ute. See "Taxes," "Prov- 
ince. " 

Tri'remes, 107. 

Tri'mnph, 330. 

Tri-um'vi-rate, 393; first, 411; 
second, 426. 

Tro'jan war, 84, 287. 

Troy, 74. See map facing p. 3. 

Tul'lus Hos-til'i-us, 288. 

Tu'nis, 348. 

Twelfth Egyptian dynasty, 7. 

Twelve Tables, law of, 311, 338 f. 

Tyrants, of Greece, 105 £f. 

Tyre, 40, 41, 45; siege by Alex- 
ander, 236. See map facing 

P- 3- 
Tyr-rhe'ni-an sea, 290. See map 

following p. 278. 
Tyr-tas'us, 113. 

Ul'pi-an, 485. 
Um'bri-ans, 279, 323. 
Um-bro-Sa-bel'li-ans, 279. 
University, at Athens, 265, 
Ur, 8. See map facing p. 3. 
U'ti-ca, 41. See map facing p„ 



Va'lens, 503. 
Va-le'ri-an, 487. 
Valerian law, 312. 
Va-le'ri-o-Horatian laws, 316. 



580 



Index 



Van'dals, 503, 507. 
Var'ro, 420. 
Va'rus, 442. 

Ve'i-i, 301 ff. See map facing p. 89. 
Ven'e-ti, 279. 
Ve'nus, 293. 

Ve-nus'i-a, 327. See map follow- 
ing p. 278. 
Ver'gil, 257; works, 437 f. 
Ves-pa'si-an, 451 f.; and senate, 

453- 
Ves'ta, 292. 
Ve-su'vi-us, 452. 
Vim'i-nal hill, 285. See map on 

p. 286. 
Vir-gin'i-us, 315 f. 
Vir-i-a'thus, 372. 
Vis-i-goths, 503, 507, 511. 
Vi-tel'li-us, 451. 
Vol'sci, 300, 304, 320. 
Volturnus river, 323, 
Vul'can, 293. 
Vul'gate, 513. 

Warfare, of Sumerians, 8; develop- 
ment in Egypt, 31, 36; of Philis- 
tines, 42 f.; in Persia, 61 f.; 
naval, 107; at Athens, 116; at 
Marathon, 129 f.; new tactics 
of Epaminondas, 209 f.; Greek 
development in, 213 f.; Mace- 
donian army, 221 f.; tactics of 
Alexander, 233 f., 238, 242 f.; 
army at Rome under Servius, 



296 f.; development and reor- 
ganization, 309 f., 329 f.; reforms 
of Marius, 399; army under Au- 
gustus, 431; army supreme in 
Roman Empire, 486 f.; im- 
provements by Diocletian, 493. 
Wealth. See "Capitalism." 
Woman, in ancient East, 19 f.; 
in Greece, 161; at Rome, 33s ff., 
459, 465- 
World, ideas of, in ancient East, 
26; in Greece, 100 f.; in Rome, 
463, 465 f. See "Cosmogony." 
Worship. See "Religion." 
Writing, materials, 15; systems of , 
20 f.; in Greece, 99; in Italy, 
290. 

Xen-oph'a-nes, 102. 

Xen'o-phon, 205; on Leuctra, 208; 

his works, 216 f. 
Xer'xes, 130, 132, 135 ff, 

Zach-a-ri'as, 517. 

Za'gros mts., 57. 

Za-leu'cus, 105. 

Za'ma, 354. See map following 
p. 476. 

Ze'la, 415. 

Ze'no, philosopher, 259, 265; em- 
peror, 505. 

Ze-no'bi-a, 487. 

Zeus, 86, 98. 

Zo'ro-as-ter, 60 f. 



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